What means hypochondria ?
Hypochondria (sometimes hypochondriasis) is a type of somatoform disorder. Hypochondria is the unfounded belief that one is suffering from a serious illness. Hypochondria is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety. Hypochondria can also be brought on by stress. Hypochondria was originally a term used for unidentifiable stomach pains that were a common concern in the ancient world. It was thought by ancient Greek physicians that such pains were caused by movement of the spleen, an organ located in the hypochondrium (the part of the abdomen located under (hypo) the ribs (chond). Eventually the term evolved to be the male counterpart to hysteria during the nineteenth century.
