What is Cyberchondria? 

 The term cyberchondria has been used to refer to the anxiety-amplifying effect of health-related online research. In other words, cyberchondria is not just a trend of searching for health-related information on the internet but has become a normal part of modern life. In light of these considerations, it can be suggested that cyberchondria refers to repeated online searches for health-related information that are associated with increasing levels of health-related anxiety.  Here, health-related anxiety is conceptualized according to the revised Diagnostic Criteria for Psychological Research (DCPR) as a “generalized illness anxiety” . Although high levels of health-related anxiety are associated with increased Internet use to search for health-related information, online searches associated with health is often meant to seek or verify reassurance in the context of pre-existing hypocrisy, people without pre-existing hypocrisy may also become unduly concerned about their health as a result of such research.  

 If the proposed definition of cyberchondria is correct, it is important to understand both how health-related online research increases health-related anxiety and why this behavioural pattern persists despite its adverse effects. Indeed, the latter may be specific to cyberchondria. For example, a feeling of uncertainty about a person’s health can increase during health-related online research, especially when online information is unclear or contradictory; The need to remove this uncertainty and get to the “end” can then lead to further online research. Likewise, if the Internet is considered the best way to provide the “perfect” explanation for any health-related query because it contains information about “everything”, it can promote further online studies. 

 Management implications 

  First, a suggestion that online health information should avoid carrying the message that such information is inherently threatening, is more likely to cause cybersecurity disruption than to mitigate it. Rather than promote the idea that it is beneficial to stay away from online medical information, treatments for cyberchondria should have two main goals: (1) enable people to use the Internet for any health-related purpose without increasing health anxiety;2) reduce time spent online for health-related purposes so that other activities are not overlooked and performance can be improved. The usual recommendation is to give more weight to government websites, those that indicate the author’s name and their references, sites that have no financial interest and are owned by organizations. Reputable academic, medical or scientific sources and sources regularly update their content and provide scientific evidence and references to support their claims or recommendations can only be useful to a limited extent. In a field as complex as health and disease, differences of opinion and disagreement are more the rule than the exception, which can be difficult to accept for people with cyber addiction.

Future Perspectives 

 Cyberchondria is a fascinating example of how digital technology can play an important, but not exclusive, role in the emergence of mental phenomena.  The tool has been criticized for being too broad, including elements that are not necessarily related or specific to cyberchondria, and rendering cyberchondria almost a disordered state, with its subscales and dimensions similar to diagnostic criteria .  Finally, it’s safe for all physicians to regularly ask patients about their health-related online research and its impact on their health and help-seeking behaviour. 

 Solve Problems Inside Our Cyberspace 

 Psychology Today has rounded up the signs here that can tell you the difference between being in a cyber apartment or just worrying about your health. So, for example, start applying the recommendations below if you’re searching online for symptom information for up to 1 to 3 hours a day and/or are concerned about contracting several different illnesses. 

 1) Admit that the Internet is a double-edged sword 

 This can be extremely helpful in finding a doctor or community, but it can also give you a very wrong picture if you are trying to try to diagnose yourself. So stay informed, monitor your health, notice changes and gain insight into how technology is being used to your benefit. Above all, don’t forget your doctor. 

 2) If you google your symptoms, use reliable sources 

 Cyberchondria is when research/ excessive/study too long or too often difficult to control: you have difficulty controlling, stopping or stopping pain research: it causes a lot of suffering, anxiety or change fear: it has an impact on your daily life. 

 We tested whether an online treatment program helped reduce cyberchondria in 41 people with severe health anxiety are not.  Treatment explained how excessive web searching can become a problem, effective wellness searches, and practical tools to prevent and stop it. Stay away from blogs, forums, testimonials or social networks. Challenge your thinking by thinking of other explanations for your symptoms: for example, even if you think eye twitching could be motor neuron disease, what about one explanation? more likely, such as looking at a computer screen using too many other strategies to narrow and prevent you from searching: focus on scheduling these activities at times of high risk.