Question:medium
Persistent preoccupation with having a serious illness despite normal body function is called?
Persistent preoccupation with having a serious illness despite normal body function is called?
Show Hint
Focus on one feared illness despite normal tests, with insight retained.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Obsession
- Somatization
- Hypochondriasis
- Conversion disorder
Show Solution
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Break the stem into clues. The key words are preoccupation with a serious illness and normal body function, meaning the body works fine but the mind is fixed on a dreaded disease.
Step 2: Match this to the somatoform disorders. Hypochondriasis is the condition where a person, after misreading ordinary bodily sensations, becomes convinced or terrified that they harbour a grave illness and keeps seeking consultations even when every test is normal.
Step 3: Separate it from the look-alikes. Somatization centres on a long list of bodily symptoms rather than one named disease; conversion disorder shows neurological deficits like paralysis or blindness without a physical lesion; an obsession is an unwanted repetitive thought characteristic of OCD.
Step 4: The presence of insight plus the focus on the illness label rather than the symptom count seals the diagnosis as hypochondriasis. \[\boxed{\text{Hypochondriasis}}\]
Step 2: Match this to the somatoform disorders. Hypochondriasis is the condition where a person, after misreading ordinary bodily sensations, becomes convinced or terrified that they harbour a grave illness and keeps seeking consultations even when every test is normal.
Step 3: Separate it from the look-alikes. Somatization centres on a long list of bodily symptoms rather than one named disease; conversion disorder shows neurological deficits like paralysis or blindness without a physical lesion; an obsession is an unwanted repetitive thought characteristic of OCD.
Step 4: The presence of insight plus the focus on the illness label rather than the symptom count seals the diagnosis as hypochondriasis. \[\boxed{\text{Hypochondriasis}}\]
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