1. Getting Ill and Seeking Medical Treatment

2. Perceiving and Interpreting Symptoms Generally we’re not very accurate at it Complicated by a number of influences

3. Individual Differences Some people have more symptoms There are differences in what people can tolerate Differ in how much attention is paid to internal states Internally focused people overestimate bodily changes and experience slower recovery

4. Personality and Hypertension: Effect of Hypertension Awareness Aware hypertensive > normotensives & unaware hypertensive, P < 0.001

5. Personality and Hypertension: Conclusion Awareness of hypertension status confounds assessment of the association between personality characteristics and hypertension. - Could be due to hypertension labeling effect or to self-selection bias

6. Symptom Awareness General stress is associated with greater reports of symptoms Mood - positive mood associated with fewer symptom reports than negative mood.

7. Psychosocial Influences Prior experience, beliefs, and knowledge influence expectations about symptoms. –Ignore unexpected symptoms, amplify expected symptoms –Beliefs about the disease label, causes, time course, and consequences influence symptom awareness and experience.

8. Placebos Inert substance or treatments –People can experience real symptom relief. –Furthermore taking placebos faithfully is associated with a lower likelihood of death.

9. Medical Student’s Disease Studying symptoms leads to greater focus on one’s own symptoms (e.g., fatigue), that then get interpreted as indicative if disease.

10. Mass Psychogenic Illness Widespread symptom perception among a large group of individuals, without any evidence for physical or environmental cause.

11. Sociocultural Influences Sociocultural influences shape how one perceives, interprets, and responds to physical symptoms.

12. Who Uses Health Services? Demographic Factors: –Age –Gender –Sociocultural

13. Factors influencing how people cope with health anxiety

14. Abnormal Illness Behaviours

15. Hypochondriasis Preoccupation with the idea that one has a serious disease based on misinterpretation of body symptoms Preoccupation persistes despite medical evaluation Not delusional Causes significant distress or impairment

16. Somatization Disorder History of many physical complaints beginning before age 30 that occur over a period of several years and result in treatment being sought or significant impairment Not intentionally produced

17. Factitious Disorder Intentional production or feigning of physical or psychological symptoms Motivation is to assume the sick role Factitious Disorder by proxy

18. The Patient/Practitioner Relationship People differ in the role they want to play in their treatment Patients who take an active role recover better and faster Practitioners differ in the level of participation they are willing to give