Have you always been hyochondrial? No, it came and went
If not, do you recall what started it? Completely random, out of nowhere
How did/does it affect you(r life)? I could not function, it was debilitating and worse than having the real diseases. You never get to the acceptance stage, you’re stuck in the initial anxiety/fear/bargaining stages
Do or don’t you have difficulty acknowledging it/be open about it? I’m ok with being open about it
Have you maybe overcome it, dealt with it? I accepted the fact I will die and don’t fear it now, possibly my amygdala is completely burned out and no longer functions well anymore
Did you do so alone, or with help? nobody can help you through this, it’s all you
How does one treat hypochondria? exposure therapy possibly, facing your fears maybe, I treated mine with grit and sheer exhaustion if that makes any sense. You get to a point where you would rather be dead than to keep worrying and that’s about when the worrying stops. I don’t honestly think it’s treatable, it will run its course and you just have to hang on. On exiting hypochondria and not having symptoms for a long time I’m unemotional about it now and this extends to others. When people get sick and die for real I’m stone faced and can’t process the emotion very well as it’s “just an inevitability” to me at this point. It’s as if that part of me that deals with this sort of thing is again just burned out from feeling it so intensely for so many years.