Are you tech-savvy? Do you religiously follow everything that you search from the net?
I guess, many of us including me too when falling sick search the symptoms on Google. Isn't it! We believe that Google is a doctor. Don't we?
Two days back, my aunt was suffering from pathetic lower back pain. So, she told me to Google it and I did the same.
But, with all the conflicting information out there, me and my aunt realize that the symptoms of back pain could be as simple as muscle strain or as bad as symptoms of cancer.
You can see the screenshot below.
Many studies show that most of the patient turns to the net when they suffer from any health problems, even when they are planning to visit a clinic. Many researchers have named this syndrome and it is known as Cyberchondria.
Let's see Cyberchondria in detail.
What is Cyberchondria?
It refers to the person's anxiety about their health that is usually, created or produced by using too much net to search for medical information and a large number of people are suffering from this syndrome due to a large amount of data available.
Without any doubt, it is very attractive to take a quick look, just know what question to ask the doctor. But, do you think that this googling habit is helping us?
See, many people believe in doctors but they still go on searching about their symptoms on Google. From wanting to clear the small doubts to the big ones, everybody Google's.
Many doctors take this issue very seriously as it makes the patient question expert which in turn negatively affects the doctor-patient relationship. Not only this but googling too many increases the chances of acquiring mental health problems.
So, one should change this habit as it's not at all healthy because at the end of the day, Google can only show you the potential diagnosis and for sure it can't provide you with personalised treatment. It is only the doctor which gives you the treatment and not Google.
So, remember this thing!
Why avoid over-Googling your symptoms?
Over - Googling the symptoms have two bad ways:
Either you overestimate your symptoms and end up taking a wrong medication which harms your body.
Or you underestimate your symptoms and let the condition becomes worse.
Other than this over-Googling the symptoms also make the patient suffer from the stress and depression because of the fear of their symptoms.
Though the content on health present on the net is correct and trustworthy, much of it is not good. So, before concluding by surfing from the net that I am suffering from this disease or that do visit a doctor, at last, he is the person which can give you the whole treatment and not the Google.
How to stop this over-Googling habit?
Though this habit is difficult to break and one might not even want to break this habit. But, this habit is not at all healthy to carry on. The longer you look for the answers to your health issues, the difficult it is to break the habit later on.
So, try to break this right away.
1. Set time limits
One thing that can help you to break this habit is to actively limit the time that you spend on googling your symptoms. Yes, setting a timer to begin to set limits on how long you going to spend the time on googling the symptoms is the best way to check yourself.
Though it takes practice with time it proves to be super helpful. So, stick to the time limits and do avoid searching the symptoms outside of that limited time.
Once, you achieve this then it becomes healthy for your body only.
2. Distract yourself
This is another way to keep you away from over-googling. Whenever you feel like googling your symptoms then distract yourself by indulging in doing something else like going for a walk or running or in that case whatever activity you want to do, so that, it distracts you from googling your symptoms.
3. Take the help of doctors
If you still have the trouble to limit or in stopping this over - googling habit then do not hesitate to take the professional help because too much of googling causes mental health problems which are not at all healthy for your body.
It's super important to take the professional help for a real diagnosis so that, you can get to the correct path and start feeling better.
So, these are the three ways that can help you to get rid of the over-googling habit.
What things you should keep in mind while googling the symptoms?
Self-diagnosing your symptoms by using Google hides your potentially dangerous diseases as doctors can only tell what exact disease you are suffering from.
So, while googling your symptom keep these two things in mind :
1. Doctors spend so many years in medical college
Before you bombard your doctor with the complete 'self-diagnosis' and eventually piss him off by researching with the help of the net.
Do not forget this thing that he has spent six to seven years in studying this whole health world in detail. Your doctor can see and examine your symptoms far better than the information provided on the net. So, remember this thing.
2. It can make you stressed and depressed
Self-diagnosis can lead you to suffer from several health issues which result in more health problems.
For example - If you are researching for the reason of headache then for sure on the net you will find that it is the symptom of brain cancer which in turn make you feel sicker than you actually are.
So, avoid over-googling your symptoms. Remember, that doctor is a doctor and Google is Google.
CONCLUSION
Remember this thing that you cannot replace professional medical help with a single Google search. If you do so, then you are unintentionally putting yourself both at the risk of the wrong diagnosis and anxiety.
There is a big difference between a doctor and a Google search. Over-Googling not only leads to the wrong diagnosis but it is even the main cause of several mental health disorders.
So, try to break this habit to remain healthy.
Thanks for reading it till the end. Hope you like this post.
Do leave your valuable comments in the comment section.
