hypochondriac

/ˌˈhaɪpəˌˈkɑndriˈæk/

/haɪpəˈkɑndriæk/

Other forms: hypochondriacs; hypochondriacally

If you obsess about your health and imagine you have the symptoms of a disease (or diseases), you may well be a hypochondriac and should seek therapy.

The original Greek hypochondriakos referred to the region of the abdomen, an area that ancient doctors believed to be the seat of misery or melancholia. It stands to reason, then, that hypochondriacs are usually unhappy, simply because they always imagine they're sick.

Definitions of hypochondriac

1. noun

   a patient with imaginary symptoms and ailments
   type of:

   patient

   a person who requires medical care
2. adjective

   suffering from hypochondria
   synonyms: hypochondriacal

   neurotic, psychoneurotic

   affected with emotional disorder