With the advancement of digital media, it has become increasingly easy to search for information. Such an evolution is extremely important, but the abundance of information must be seen very carefully when it comes to health. Therefore, not all available content about illnesses or health problems should be taken literally. This is because the things that are read by those who research the topic can often scare and cause fear. cyberchondria.
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Cyberchondria is a new term created to define the habit of consulting the internet when feeling something different in the body. People with this trait tend to research symptoms in search of a diagnosis. However, this will likely give you the wrong answers about your health.
Ciberchondria is the combination of the terms “cyber”, which refers to the virtual universe, and “chondria”, which means disorder. Therefore, this condition is seen as a disease of the 21st century, a disease of the digital age, precisely because of the influence that technology and the internet have acquired in our lives.
Searching for data and information about health is not a problem, even the internet makes it possible for this information to circulate more quickly. In addition, researching a certain disease and/or symptom can help you to seek a doctor, to have a healthier lifestyle, among other positive things. But for that, it is necessary that these are conscious researches.
However, cyberchondria can lead to self-medication, as well as provoke anxiety attacks due to anguish in front of what is being read. This happens because many times, when looking for information about a disease or symptom, we will find situations and extreme cases that can be frightening. Thus, it is necessary to pay attention so that this search for information does not become a behavior that negatively interferes with their quality of life.
In addition, although cyberchondria is not a disease, it can lead the individual to develop a hypochondriasis, a psychological illness disorder in which the person lives with excessive concern that he has a problem of health. In addition, people with this condition tend to see many doctors and have frequent tests.
