Nosophobia or Fear of a Disease

Nosophobia is the irrational fear of having a specific disease. The origins of the word Nosophobia come from ‘nosos’ and phobos which mean disease and fear in Greek.

In recent years, nosophobia has also been referred to as cyberchondria. This stems from the fact that a lot of the information that is at the root of the fear is found in "cyberspace" on the Internet.

Risk Factors

There are a number of risk factors that may contribute to nosophobia:

• Exposure to high levels of media coverage about disease and the risks of contracting diseases
• Having suffered traumatic health problems in the past
• Repeated exposure to people with serious illnesses

Nosophobia is a type of specific phobia, and appears to be more common among students and researchers who spend a great deal of time reading about specific diseases. These conditions are often called "medical student’s disease."

Relation to Hypochondriasis

Nosophobia is related to hypochondriasis, but there are several important differences between the two conditions. The most important difference is specificity.

A person with hypochondriasis believes they have a life-threatening illness despite having little to no physical symptoms. Someone with nosophobia, however, is afraid of contracting a specific disease and becomes convinced that they could have the symptoms of that particular disease.

Additionally, underlying conditions must be ruled out. If you're afraid of a contracting a specific illness, and it turns out you have that illness or one that causes similar symptoms, then your fear may not be unwarranted. Treating the illness, then, may remove the symptoms and assuage your fears—this is an example of when you may not actually have a phobia.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Many mental health specialists have termed both nosophobia and hypochondriasis as illness anxiety disorder.

In fact, many people across the globe have been diagnosed with this condition, which can become debilitating as the sufferer is convinced that they have contracted a certain illness.

Causes

In addition to the risk factors above, here are some potential causes of a fear of illness:

• Anxiety about one's health.
• Someone close to you dying from an incurable illness.
• Patients with other behavioral disorders, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, clinical depression, or obsessive compulsive disorders may be more likely to fear serious illness.
• Somatic amplification disorder, which is related to perception and cognition, can be a cause of nosophobia. In this situation, the person with nosophobia is negative toward the thought of being sick.
• Online reading or watching television shows about incurable diseases can trigger excessive fear of becoming ill.
• Major global disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could spark nosophobia in individuals. (Remember, however, that a phobia is an unreasonable fear.)

Treatment

Nosophobia is slightly different from other phobias in that exposure therapy may not be a preferred method of treatment. In exposure therapy, you are exposed—in a safe, professionally monitored environment—to the fear object or something related to it. In this case, a doctor will not expose you to the disease you fear.

Instead, cognitive behavioral therapy can help manage anxiety related to the fear of illness, and is often recommended. In addition to therapy, alternative techniques are also recommended. They include things like meditation, positive affirmations, and visualization.

If you're struggling with this fear, know that you're not alone. Most of us don't like to get sick, and may often feel nervous or afraid of certain illnesses that we've either observed or that may run in our families. Talk to your doctor about your options. Not only can they help lessen your fear, they may be able to provide you some solutions to help prevent illness, whether through dietary changes, exercise, or other lifestyle changes. These steps can also have the side effect of helping you to feel that you—and not your fear—are more in charge of your life.