hypochondriasis

n. in DSM–IV–TR, a somatoform disorder characterized by a preoccupation with the fear or belief that one has a serious physical disease based on the incorrect and unrealistic interpretation of bodily symptoms. This fear or belief persists for at least 6 months and interferes with social and occupational functioning in spite of medical reassurance that no physical disorder exists. DSM–5 eliminates this diagnosis, partly because of its perceived negative connotations (e.g., it has been perceived by patients as dismissing the validity of their concerns), and replaces it with two separate diagnoses that are each characterized by high health anxiety and health-related preoccupations but that occur either in the presence of significant somatic symptoms (see somatic symptom disorder) or in the absence or with minimal evidence of such symptoms (see illness anxiety disorder).

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Psychology term of the day

February 22nd 2025

Gesellschaft

n. a type of society (the literal meaning of this German word) or social group in which people feel relatively isolated from each other. Their relationships are primarily contractual in nature, being guided chiefly by rational self-interest and the logic of the marketplace. Compare Gemeinschaft. [first described in 1887 by German sociologist Ferdinand Julius Tönnies (1855–1936)]