A woman teleworks with her mask. Illustration - ROBIN UTRECHT / SIPA

  • Our series “Cassé (s) Net” explores the impact of our digital uses on our mental health.
  • This week, Céline, who has never been a person concerned about her health, tells how she became hypochondriac during the coronavirus crisis.

Here is the story of Céline, 46, who became hypochondriac by consuming medical websites and reading articles on the coronavirus. His testimony launched our series “Cassé (s) Net” which explores the impact of our digital uses on our mental health. Hypochondria, dependence, FoMo syndrome ( fear of missing out , fear of missing something)… Each episode will illustrate, with the help of a testimony, a symptom of these drifts.

If your online practices make you sick or have made you sick, write to us at lbeaudonnet@20minutes.fr; hbounemoura@20minutes.fr and hsergent@20minutes.fr.

“I became hypochondriac at the start of confinement. I happen to take my blood pressure twice an hour. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack, a heart attack. Before Covid-19, I was never afraid for my health. I never went to see the doctor, I hadn't had any blood tests since my last pregnancy, nine years ago. When we were confined, I started to watch everything that was going on in the world, in France. I saw all the articles on the dramas of Covid-19, the testimonies on resuscitation. I consulted the government site to test online, I had to say if we had this or that symptom. At the end of the test, they told you to consult a doctor or if it was not necessary. I did this test I don't know how many times.

“In all, I had to consult around twenty doctors. At the slightest symptom, I thought I had the Covid-19 "

One Saturday, I felt bad, my temperature went up to 37.6 ° C, which in itself is not temperature, but I panicked. I made a teleconsultation appointment on Doctolib. I came across a very rude doctor who asked me banal questions: did I have a headache; did i have temperature? He told me I didn't have the Covid-19 but I had to watch. He sent me a prescription for Doliprane and a form that required me to stay in my room for fourteen days. The people I lived with were not to approach me. It was very anxiety-provoking.

I was very scared, so I went to see SOS Doctor in Amiens. The doctor examined me well and told me that I did not have the coronavirus. However, he advised me to consult a psychiatrist. I had an interview and the specialist told me that I was starting to feel anxious. But, I continued to look at the sites, to answer this online test, to read the testimonies of the patients. I spent about two hours a day looking at sites on the subject. I was in childcare, I had time to devote to it. In all, I had to consult about twenty doctors. They have set up a platform of free online psychologists. I had a psychologist twice, but it didn't help me. I contacted a hypnotherapist who tried to hypnotize me from a distance, but it didn't work either. It ended in a general anxiety attack. At the slightest symptom, I thought I had the Covid-19. I was in a state of permanent terror, I had palpitations, sleeplessness. I lost 6 kg.

I could not be hospitalized because there was a risk of catching the virus. And my condition worsened on May 11, at the time of deconfinement. At first, I thought that the anxiety was linked to confinement, but even when the limitations were lifted, I couldn't go out. During confinement, when I went out to shop, I stuck to the wall. If someone spoke to me, I was in a panic. Even after being in the clinic for four weeks, I still cannot return to a normal life.

"Whenever I take my temperature, I'm scared. It has become a phobia "

When you turn on the television, the coronavirus alert is broadcast repeatedly, it never stops. Between two programs, we are constantly reminded: "If you have a runny nose, if you have a fever, sore throat, consult your doctor". The runny nose we all have with the temperature changes right now, there is hay fever. As soon as I have a runny nose, it's panic. When you are a smoker and you are anxious, you smoke more cigarettes, and your throat hurts. It eats me. We are confused and it continues, on television, on social networks.

I am going back to the clinic for four weeks, but I know it will be very anxiety-provoking for me. In the morning, we take your temperature, in the evening we take your temperature. At the slightest symptom, you should stay confined to your room. Whenever I take my temperature, I'm afraid. It became a phobia. My generalized anxiety turned into depression. I saw psychotherapists at the clinic, they told me that I was too psychologically damaged by anxiety for me to be able to start psychotherapy without taking medication. I have a very painful past and everything comes out.

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  • Disease
  • Psychology
  • Confinement
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19
  • By the Web