A person preoccupied with worries about falling ill is
**Core Concept**
The underlying concept being tested is anxiety disorder, specifically health anxiety, also known as illness anxiety disorder. This condition is characterized by excessive worry about having or acquiring a serious illness, despite medical reassurance and absence of somatic symptoms.
**Why the Correct Answer is Right**
Health anxiety often involves a preoccupation with fears of illness, which can be driven by catastrophic thinking patterns and a misinterpretation of bodily sensations. Individuals with health anxiety may exhibit hypervigilance for bodily symptoms, engage in excessive health-related research, and experience significant distress or impairment in daily life. This condition is often associated with a history of trauma, stress, or a previous illness experience.
**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
**Option A:** This option is not a specific psychiatric condition related to health anxiety. It might be a vague description of a person's behavior but lacks clinical specificity.
**Option B:** Avoidant personality disorder is a distinct psychiatric condition characterized by social anxiety and avoidance of social situations, but it is not directly related to health anxiety.
**Option C:** Hypochondriasis is an outdated term that was previously used to describe health anxiety. However, it is no longer a valid diagnostic term in modern psychiatric classification systems.
**Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
Health anxiety is often comorbid with other anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder. A thorough diagnostic evaluation should consider these comorbidities when assessing patients with health anxiety.
**Correct Answer: D. Hypochondriasis is an outdated term for the condition described.