Illness Anxiety Disorder
A condition characterized by preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, with relatively limited somatic symptoms.
Core concept
A condition characterized by preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, with relatively limited somatic symptoms.
Plain explanation
The central problem is health-related anxiety and preoccupation rather than the severity of bodily symptoms themselves.
Recognition pattern
Look for persistent illness preoccupation, health-related behaviors or avoidance, and a mismatch between feared illness and available medical evidence.
Development & course
May arise at different ages and can fluctuate with health scares or life stressors.
Functional impact
Repeated checking, reassurance seeking, medical visits, or avoidance can interfere with daily functioning.
Associated features
Frequent body checking, reassurance seeking, internet searching, or avoidance of medical settings may occur.
Differential reasoning
Distinguish from somatic symptom disorder, where distress is more strongly organized around significant somatic symptoms; also consider GAD and OCD.
Culture & context
Beliefs about illness and help-seeking practices vary culturally; evaluate distress and impairment without dismissing legitimate medical concerns.
Common misconceptions
Illness anxiety is not equivalent to “imagining symptoms”; the person may have few somatic symptoms while experiencing intense health preoccupation.
Clinical vignette
A person with minimal physical symptoms repeatedly fears undiagnosed cancer, seeks reassurance, and checks bodily sensations throughout the day.
Reconsider
Reconsider the formulation if the duration, impairment, developmental pattern, substance/medical context, or competing diagnosis does not fit the core pattern.
Learn
Learn the distinction between symptom burden and illness preoccupation.
Notice
Ask whether the central problem is the symptom itself or fear/preoccupation about disease.
Distinguish
Illness Anxiety Disorder is differentiated from Somatic Symptom Disorder by the relative prominence of somatic symptoms.
APA (2022). DSM-5-TR, Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders.