Question

Someone with illness anxiety disorder is preoccupied with having or acquiring a serious illness. In some cases, the individual is constantly seeking medical care, changing doctors, and/or undergoing tests and procedures. What specifier would support this pattern?

Answer 1

This person is a hypochondriac patient and needs intervention involving a few steps

Step-by-step explanation:

The sign that one may be a hypochondriac is:

Checking their bodies for illnesses

Being afraid that something is seriously wrong if they have a simple cough or pimple

Makes appointments to visit the Doctor often

Spends a lot of time speaking of or researching symptoms

Obsessed with a certain disease and talks about it all the time while insisting that their negative tests results are false

Exhibits a lot of anxiety symptoms and claims it's actually a disease that is life threatening

These persons will benefit from self help that include:

1. Learning what the real causes of the diseases are and discontinue searching online for their symptoms
2. Learn how to recognize and manage anxiety
3. Take up extra curricular activities to keep their mind occupied

They may also seek professional help by getting

1. cognitive behavioral therapy
2. exposure therapy
3. getting placed on anti-depressants to treat their feelings

Answer 2

Care seeking type

Step-by-step explanation:

A Care Seeking Type is a term that describes the specifier to diagnosis of Illness Anxiety Disorder often shortened as IAD, it is characterized with a patient sufferring from Illness Anxiety Disorder, and at the same time, seeking medical care at a frequent rate, changing doctors, undergoing series of diagnostic test and procedures. This is in contrast to a Care Avoidant Type: whereby the patient suffering from IAD, will have anxiety about going under diagnostic test and procedures, hence avoiding medical care.

Therefore, the physician or clinician can add Care-Seeking Type specifier to the diagnosis described.