Individuals with which disorder are overly concerned about undiagnose…

Individuals with which disorder are overly concerned about undiagnosed disease and negative diagnostic results, do not respond to assurance by doctors, and are easily alarmed on hearing about someone else's ill-health?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (4) → Illness anxiety disorder

Option	Reason
Option (1): Somatic symptom disorder. A somatic symptom disorder.	Here a person has persistent body-related symptoms and is overly preoccupied with them. The concern comes out as physical complaints, causing distress in daily life.
Option (2): Derealisation disorder. A dissociative disorder.	Derealisation involves a dreamlike state in which the person feels separated both from self and from reality. The sense of reality is temporarily lost or changed.
Option (3): Dissociative amnesia. A dissociative disorder.	Dissociative amnesia is extensive but selective memory loss with no known organic cause. Some people cannot recall anything about their past.
Option (4): Illness anxiety disorder. The disorder with these features.	Illness anxiety disorder is a persistent preoccupation about developing a serious illness. Anxiety about one's health is the main concern, so the person stays alarmed despite assurance.

NCERT (2026-27): “Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders …
Illness anxiety disorder involves persistent preoccupation about developing a serious illness and constantly worrying about this possibility. This is accompanied by anxiety about one’s health. Individuals with illness anxiety disorder are overly concerned about undiagnosed disease, negative diagnostic results, do not respond to assurance by doctors, and are easily alarmed about illness such as on hearing about someone else's ill-health or some such news. In general, both somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder are concerned with medical illnesses. But, the difference lies in the way this concern is expressed. In the case of somatic symptom disorder, this expression is in terms of physical complaints while in case of illness anxiety disorder, as the name suggests, it is the anxiety which is the main concern.”

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (4) → Illness anxiety disorder

Option	Reason
Option (1): Somatic symptom disorder. A somatic symptom disorder.	Here a person has persistent body-related symptoms and is overly preoccupied with them. The concern comes out as physical complaints, causing distress in daily life.
Option (2): Derealisation disorder. A dissociative disorder.	Derealisation involves a dreamlike state in which the person feels separated both from self and from reality. The sense of reality is temporarily lost or changed.
Option (3): Dissociative amnesia. A dissociative disorder.	Dissociative amnesia is extensive but selective memory loss with no known organic cause. Some people cannot recall anything about their past.
Option (4): Illness anxiety disorder. The disorder with these features.	Illness anxiety disorder is a persistent preoccupation about developing a serious illness. Anxiety about one's health is the main concern, so the person stays alarmed despite assurance.