The next time you develop a sudden rash on your arm that might look funny, don`t jump on the keyboard and type away your concerns; if you do so you might be a cyberchondriac! Searching for health worries online is escalating into a new phenomenon — cyberchondria.

So what makes smart young professionals, homemakers and even young students, try this? Psychologists peg it down to the fear of the unknown, which makes the internet the answer provider. Says psychologist Dr Seema Hingorrany, "We are seeing such cases; these are psychosomatic. A person has an exaggerated view of things, it often happens to people who are sensitive. People read vague symptoms and fear develops. Sometimes they have a masked depression and they tend to `ruminate` a lot about things. A simple knee pain might make them continuously feel that they might have arthritis."

How harmful it is

Doubts and fears over health can trigger other anxieties, sleeplessness, loss of appetite and even put a regular job in danger if you are caught being a cyberchondriac too often at work. "You can develop hyperchondria (a fear of major illnesses). It`s important to remember that online material needs to be filtered and validated. What you are thinking could be a psychological masked depression and nothing more." says Dr Seema.

BDST: 1559 HRS, Dec-28, 2013
Edited by: Sharmina islam, Lifestyle Editor