Ebola Fears Are Triggering Mass Hypochondria

In a way, what we’re seeing here is hypochondria manifested on a mass scale, said Catherine F. Belling, an associate professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, who has written a book on hypochondria. “I know that there are a lot of people, clearly, who are very anxious and panicking at this point, who maybe don’t altogether trust what the CDC is saying,” she said. “And they’re worried that it’s out in America now, instead of being far away in Africa.” We tend to think of hypochondriacs as the irrational individuals who, after spending entirely too much time on WebMD, become convinced that a minor headache means a brain tumor, or that a lingering cough means lung cancer. But that anxiety and fear some of us are having over catching Ebola (a highly unlikely health outcome) That’s hypochondria, too, Belling explained.

What is it about Ebola in particular that is sparking anxiety, especially in those prone to hypochondria?
With Ebola, you have the elements of a horror story, That’s the image people have of this thing, that it’s something that can turn you into some kind of monster. I think that’s what’s kind of special about Ebola, as opposed to something we should truly be worried about, like drug-resistant bacteria, for example.

There’s a very special sense of horror that’s attached to Ebola, and before now, it’s been sort of alien. And now it’s here. And I think that has captured imaginations in a scary kind of way.

[link to nymag.com]