The Hypochondriac's Manual: A Guide to Imaginary Ailments (Imperfections Guides) (The Imperfections Guides)

Stop trying to get well. You weren’t built for it.You have diagnosed yourself with forty-seven conditions this year. None of them were real. You’ve photographed the same mole on three consecutive mornings. You’ve spent 3 AM in the emergency room, convinced the indigestion was a heart attack. Your browser autocomplete predicts “brain tumor symptoms” after the letter B.Thankfully, you’ve come to the right waiting room.The Hypochondriac’s Manual is written by a man who’d mistake a hangnail for early-onset leprosy. Inside, we’ll explore the online forums where strangers diagnose each other with rare diseases, the wellness industry selling you back your own anxiety, and the distinguished line of famous worriers – Darwin, Proust, Warhol, Tennessee Williams – who got there first.You’ll find:A month-by-month autopsy of a year spent on WebMDLive sports commentary from a long night in the emergency roomA fieldwork report on the tribes of the online symptom forumThe literary novel about gluten intolerance that nobody asked forA Silicon Valley pitch deck for an app that gamifies health anxietyThe Malady Men: a gallery of history’s most committed sufferersYou’re not dying. You’ve just closed a browser tab full of medical journal abstracts at 4 AM and resolved to eat a proper breakfast tomorrow.You are, at last, among friends. Read more