10 famous hypochondriac

There are celebrities suffering from hypochondria, a disease in which the person feels an extreme concern because he believes he is sick or is about to get sick.

Some patients with hypochondria may believe that some sensations, such as headache, fatigue or pain in the body, are serious symptoms of mortal disease. While, it is also possible that you have no symptoms.

This concept of hypochondría has been present for more than 300 years, because in the work The imaginary patient, Already the playwright Molière gave life to his main character as a hypochondriac.

Content

• Famous hypochondriac
  • Other famous hypochondriac
• 10 famous hypochondriac
  • Bibliography

Famous hypochondriac

A hypochondriac is a person who manifests physical symptoms and feels excessive concern because he firmly thinks that they correspond to a serious illness.

Irishman Brian Dillon, in his book Tormented Hope. Nine Hypochondriac Lives, He reviews the life of some of the most famous hypochondria in history.

On this list, the name of Charlotte Brontë, the author of Cumbres Borrascosas, who claimed to have suffered his first hypochondria attack at nineteen years of age, when he taught in Roe Head. Brontë wrote about it and said that the disease "made life a constant day nightmare", attributing this picture to the task of teaching, which left him little time for writing.

Other famous hypochondriac

Other famous hypochondrias are as follows:

Charles Darwin also lived a full of bitterness and anguish for his health, Well, he suffered from symptoms such as gastric discomfort, palpitations and headaches. Before starting his trip around the world, he complained about a pain in his hands, to which no one found an explanation. He also worried about the size of his nose. It is likely that during one of his expeditions he would suffer from Chagas disease, but when the symptoms disappeared, he continued to feel ill.

However, to Darwin this had a positive appearance, since he came to affirm on one occas to work and develop their theory about the evolution of species.

This led Dillon to affirm that In the hypochondria there was a relationship between fear, disease and creativity.

Thus, another example between the list of famous hypochondria is French writer Marcel Proust, Who, due to his high sensitivity to the sounds, covered the walls of his room with cork.

Proust was also obsessed with wet towels and supposedly suffered from asthma, so many days he was in bed and got up only at night to write. This is how he wrote the 16 volumes of In Search of Lost Time (193-1927), considered today as one of the masterpieces in universal literature.

So, among celebrities as different as Marcel Proust, Howard Hughes, Glenn Gloud, Tennessee Williams and even Adolf Hitler, there is a relationship: They were all hypochondriacos.

Many specialists have come to refer that, more than a disease, hypochondria can be defined as an attitude, since the hypochondriac has disproportionate and continuous attention, in addition to serious, towards its health, which amplifies the perception it has of its sensations and symptoms, so you are always worried.

10 famous hypochondriac

But, there are also other famous hypochondria, among which are:

1. Abigail Breslin: The protagonist of Little Miss Sunshine is a proof that the hypochondria is not limited only to adults, because, from a very young age she has been immersed in the world of commercials and feature films, but, behind her success she hid a secret, and it was terrified. In an interview, Breslin admitted that he was not allowed to watch medicine programs on television, for fear of finding something else for which to suffer. He always wore shoes, even in bed; I was afraid of stepping on the glass. For a long time, he thought he suffered from the avian flu and did not want to approach the birds. When asked about his symptoms, he said he has none.
2. Adolf Hitler: This character became obsessed with many issues, including the good condition of his health. Several medications were prescribed for any type of ailments, the royal and imaginary, among which were the changes in humor, gastrointestinal problems, Parkinson's disease, skin problems, among others. But, the medicine was not a placebo, but was treated with injected amphetamines, testosterone, glucose, topical and corticosteroid cocaine. This could explain why he never traveled without the presence of a doctor.
3. Hans Christian Andersen: A good stories narrator with a good imagination. Not only did he write fairy tales, but other amazing stories such as the Little Merma. On a trip through Europe, Hans worried about a small stain on his eye, which he felt he could cover half of his face, having swallowed a meat pin, as well as complained about his knee, which felt broken. His fears led him to suffer the fright of believing to be buried alive.
4. Andy Warhol: He is considered the king of pop art, but he was also a hypochondriac of the strong. He obsessed with perfection and detest the idea of ​​disease and aging. He took notes on the fears of the disease, with many details and had an attempt at suicide in 1968, crossing the street to evade a hospital, since he hated these enclosures. When he had discomfort due to problems with the gallbladder, he did not want to register in a hospital, but his pain intensified, went to surgery and died days later due to complications with the procedure.
5. Tennessee Williams: He was the author of more than twenty plays, so he received many awards thanks to his work. It can be considered as one of the best writers in history. But it was also neurotic. Although he was shy and did not show interest in criticism, the truth is that they affected him a lot. He felt terror to get sick and to relieve his concerns, he came to take many pills. Also turned to alcohol.
6. Glenn Gould: It is also part of famous hypochondriacs. He was one of the most prominent musicians of the twentieth century. It was an eccentric recognized. In addition, it was obsessive with two things: the temperature in the recording studio and the height of its piano. Then there was the fear of getting sick. This led him to wear heavy clothes, gloves and scarves, even in summer. I felt fear if someone touched him. In the end, he stopped having contact with people, due to fear of germs, and only limited himself to writing cards and talking on the phone. He also had a newspaper with all his conditions.
7. Florence Nightingale: In spite Several times to the edge of death. He died at 90, but spent 57 years prior prostrated in bed.
8. Howard Hughes: film producer, aviator, philanthropist, among other facets. He hid many times in hotels rooms to feel safe. Well, not only suffered from hypochondría, but also of obsessive compulsive disorder. He reached the end of locking himself in his projection room for four months and urinating in jars. Everything he touched did with paper scarves so as not to have contact with the germs and became obsessed with the dust and dirty of the clothes of others. Many times he refused to abandon hotels for fear of returning to the outside world. At the time of his death, almost no one recognized him. His hair, his nails and his beard had grown too much, in addition to his body looked demaciously.

These are some of the most renowned famous hypochondrias who brought their fears to the limit.

The hypochondría: the imaginary patient

Bibliography

• Dillon, b. (2009). Tormented Hope: Nine Hypocchondriac Lives. Penguin Uk.
• Rosenfeld, h. (1963). Some considerations about the psychopathology of hypochondriac states. Uruguayan Magazine of Psychoanalysis, 5(4), 410-418.