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Is hypochondriasis an anxiety disorder?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Bunmi O. Olatunji ,
Brett J. Deacon  and
Jonathan S. Abramowitz
Bunmi O. Olatunji
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Brett J. Deacon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
Jonathan S. Abramowitz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Abstract

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Summary

Although hypochondriasis is currently classified as a somatoform disorder, the underlying cognitive processes may be more consistent with an anxiety disorder. This observation has important implications for treatment and subsequent revisions of the diagnostic classification of hypochondriasis.

Type
Editorial
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 194 , Issue 6 , June 2009 , pp. 481 - 482
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2009 

Footnotes

Declaration of interest

None.

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