The need to know

Illness anxiety disorder is a chronic and disabling mental disorder that can interfere with school, work, sleep, and relationships, and can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts.

• People who are comfortable with uncertainty about health tend to think: 'I must be tired or stressed, so I will forget about this symptom.'
• But when you have an intolerance of uncertainty, your mind tries to take a better-safe-than-sorry approach to the infinite possibilities of illness and health: imagine the worst-case scenario.