Hypochondria Never Dies

And yet hypochondria, you may be surprised to learn, officially no longer exists. In 2013, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the so-called bible of psychiatric conditions, eliminated hypochondriasis. The change reflected an overdue need to reconceive a diagnosis that people found stigmatizing because it implied that hypochondriacs are neurotic malingerers whose symptoms aren’t “real.” The DSM introduced two distinct new diagnoses, illness anxiety disorder and somatic symptom disorder, both of which aim to be neutrally clinical descriptions of people with “extensive worries about health.” What differentiates them is the presence or absence of physical symptoms accompanying those fears.