A Cultural History Of Hypochondria

疑病症的文化史

Fresh Air

艺术

2024-12-06

44 分钟
PDF

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Are you hyper-vigilant about your health, constantly monitoring yourself and panicking when you feel the slightest symptom? You're not alone. Writer Caroline Crampton has a new book about illness anxiety disorder, a.k.a. hypochondria. We talk about our evolving understanding of the disorder, its connection to PTSD, and new treatments. Her book is A Body Made of Glass. John Powers reviews two new spy series, Black Doves and The Agency. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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  • Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial.

  • When your celebration of life is prepaid today, your family is protected tomorrow, planning ahead is truly one of the best gifts you can give your family.

  • For additional information, visit dignity memorial.com this is FRESH AIR.

  • I'm Terri Gross.

  • I think I may have a mild case of a health condition I just learned about, and you may have it, too.

  • It's called cyberchondria.

  • It's a cousin of hypochondria is when you Google your symptoms and convince yourself you have the worst case scenario and are doomed.

  • My guest describes the Internet as the most expansive and spacious playground that hypochondria ever had.

  • Carolyn Crampton is the author of a new book about hypochondria.

  • Because she's pretty sure she has it, she has a reason to be hypervigilant about her health.

  • When she was 17, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.

  • After months of treatment and monitoring, she was given the all clear and went to college.

  • But a year later, she found a lump in her neck.

  • The cancer had returned, requiring more chemo and a stem cell transplant.

  • She spent weeks in a hospital isolation ward.

  • After five years had passed, she was told again she was in the clear.

  • Is it any wonder she's always feeling the sight of the tumor and going to the doctor every time she feels a twinge in her neck or any suspicious symptom?

  • Crampton's new book is called A Body Made of A Cultural History of Hypochondria.

  • It's about her own experience of hypochondria, and it examines how our understanding of hypochondria has changed from ancient times to today.

  • And she reports on the latest therapies for treating it.