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The 'cure' that makes hypochondriacs feel better

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From: The Sunday Telegraph London
Date: 20040201
Author:by DR James Le Fanu

Hypochondriacs have a tough time of it. Alfred Lord Tennyson, according to his biographer, "thought more about his bowels and nerves than the Laureate's wreath he was born to inherit". A typical entry in James Boswell's diary reads: "Upon coming home I felt not so well. I dreaded the worst and went to bed." As for poor old Charles Darwin, he spent nights retching over his wash-basin, "so much afraid . . . though my reason told me there was nothing".

Indeed the hypochondriac, far from enjoying being ill, as is usually believed, can be said to suffer several times over. First, there is the ...

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