__________ involves persistent preoccupation about developing a serious illness and constantly worrying about this possibility.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Illness anxiety disorder
Option (1) Illness anxiety disorder — Correct. It is a somatic symptom and related disorder that involves persistent preoccupation about developing a serious illness and constant worry about this possibility. Such people are anxious about their health, do not respond to the doctors’ assurance and are easily alarmed about illness.
Option (2) Post traumatic stress disorder — Incorrect. PTSD follows a traumatic event such as a bomb blast, a serious accident or war. Its symptoms are recurrent dreams, flashbacks, impaired concentration and emotional numbing, not worry about falling ill.
Option (3) Conversion disorder — Incorrect. Here a person reports loss of part or all of some basic body function, such as paralysis or blindness, with no physical cause, often after a stressful experience. The person has a symptom; she/he is not worried about getting a disease.
Option (4) Dissociative fugue — Incorrect. It is a part of dissociative amnesia: an unexpected travel away from home and workplace, a new identity and inability to recall the old one. It concerns memory and identity, not health worries.
NCERT (2025-26): “Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders These are conditions in which there are physical symptoms in the absence of a physical disease. In these disorders, the individual has psychological difficulties and complains of physical symptoms, for which there is no biological cause. These include conversion disorders, somatic symptom disorder, and illness anxiety disorder among others. Somatic symptom disorder involves a person having persistent body-related symptoms which may or may not be related to any serious medical condition. People with this disorder tend to be overly preoccupied with their symptoms and they continually worry about their health and make frequent visits to doctors. As a result, they experience significant distress and disturbances in their daily life. 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…” |