Addicted to Symptom Searches? How It Could Seriously Sabotage Your Mental Health
A worrying new symptom pops up and reflexively, you whip out your phone or jump on your computer, frantically scrolling through pages of alarming explanations.
Heart sinking with each potential diagnosis, you plunge down diagnostic rabbit holes for hours strained with anxiety.
If this routine rings familiar, you may be caught in a vicious cyclone researchers are calling cyberchondria. But surrendering your searches to “Dr. Google’s” speculative whims can seriously sabotage mental health.
Here’s why it’s critical to ditch online diagnoses and instead, connect with real-life doctors who can assess your one-of-a-kind health status.
Most folks occasionally hunt online for insights on a weird, new rash or an unfamiliar ache. But for some, digging into diagnoses becomes compulsive and emotionally-charged instead of empowering.
Cyberchondria represents anxiety-fueled attempts to compulsively research speculated diseases for endless hours. And it often sparks distress rather than reassurance.
In fact, research suggests some spend over 3 HOURS a day desperately scouring symptoms. The obsession grows as each dire explanation fans fears of having multiple dire conditions. And repeatedly re-Googling despite exhaustive prior searches suggests a loss of control.
Like anxiety disorders, the condition remains largely unrecognized but still can plummet quality of life. The endless spiral stokes stress with physical fallouts—like chronic headaches or insomnia.
While emotional wellbeing gets sabotaged, cyberchondria also erodes connections as folks become preoccupied with what might be wrong with them. For those cyberchondriacs unfortunate enough to have faced illness personally in loved ones, it represents deeper trauma relived.
Breaking free from cyberchondria means consciously recognizing when curiosity curdles into craving. Aim to create space between the initial search and revisits to test. And set a time limit for symptom investigating.
As tough as it feels, also sit with uncertainty instead of chasing elusive diagnosis closure.
And of course, consult an actual doctor to constructively discuss concerns customized to your situation.
They can refer you to mental health pros or provide resources without fueling fear. Additionally, whatever your medical concerns are, they can address them to get a diagnosis suited to you.
Look, the lightning-fast explosion of online medical information offers us unprecedented patient power. But we still must take it all with a grain of salt.
See, Dr. Google can’t replace an actual doctor who knows your unique situation. Search engines just spit out blanket basics about conditions. They can’t consider critical personal details that could majorly impact how something shows up or gets handled in your body.
And they often hype up the scary shocking stuff rather than logical realities (it’s all about those clicks!) But that risks sending anxieties into overdrive.
So before you jump to worst-case scenarios, take an anxiety antidote break. Then, call your doctor or book an annual wellness visit to hash out any concerns.
To not making your health an algorithm,
Rachel Mace
Editor, e-Alert with contributions from the research team
P.S. Go here to find out why laughter is one of the BEST medicines for your mental health.
Sources:
