Dick Yarbrough Column: Getting anxiety and depression from reading about hypochondriacs

Published 8:30 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

I feel anxious telling you this because I fear you will be depressed when you hear it, but you and I seem to be a bunch of hypochondriacs. I have received a study from MEDvidi.com, an online mental health treatment center in California that deals with conditions like — well — anxiety and depression. Their data show that Georgia has the fifteenth-highest level of hypochondria in the U.S.

At least we aren’t Minnesota. MEDvidi.com says they are the worst hypochondriacs in the U.S. I will have to delve into the data a bit more deeply but you sort of figure that might be the case when you discover their state bird is the common loon. Makes sense.

This may be the only ranking of states I can recall where being last is a good thing. That distinction belongs to Mississippi, whose citizens are used to being last. Always being at the bottom of the barrel evidently doesn’t seem to raise their anxiety level.

But what about us? I am talking about those of us who reside in the Great State of Georgia. Why the anxiety? Blame it on the internet. MEDvidi.com did an analysis of the number of times we search some 3,660 keywords related to hypochondria, self-diagnosis and illness symptoms such as “virus symptoms,” “health anxiety” and “symptom checker” per 100,000 people. Thus, we rank 15th out of 50.

I don’t know about you but the fact that somebody can find out that kind of personal stuff about what we are doing on the internet strikes me as creepy. What else do they know? Remind me to never search for the term “Jeffrey Epstein.” I could find myself being sued by You-Know-Who. Maybe even shipped off to Venezuela in a pair of baggy white shorts. That depressing thought makes me very anxious.

Dr. Michael Chichak, medical director at MEDvidi, says the data indicate we are attempting to self-diagnose what may ail us rather than bothering to see the doctor and finding out for sure. “While it’s great to have a certain level of awareness when it comes to medical symptoms, particularly for easily transmissible illnesses such as flu and COVID-19,” Dr. Chichak says, “self-diagnosis can often cause more harm than good. If you think your symptoms match a particular illness, then your first point of contact should be your doctor.”

I had a doctor once tell me that she had patients show up in her office who had self-diagnosed their particular ailment and were there just to have her give them the prescription they required. No examination necessary. Those are probably the same people who believe Hillary Clinton was part of a satanic child sex trafficking ring run out of a Washington, D.C., drug store and that it was 2,000 mules that got Joe Biden elected president.

The study also reveals specific illnesses people are trying to self-diagnose on the internet. Flu takes the top spot. ADHD is in second place while depression is third. Other illnesses that Americans are frequently attempting to self-diagnose online include gout, prostate cancer and COVID-19.

I didn’t see any mention of the real possibility of the Georgia Bulldogs being upset by the Austin Peay Governors, of Clarksville, Tennessee, Sept. 6 on Dooley Field. It is my hope that they will be looking ahead to Utah Tech. Vince Dooley taught me to worry about things like this, which I do and which leads to much anxiety and depression.

Being the 15th largest assortment of hypochondriacs says we have forgotten what a blessing it is to live in this great state. Otherwise, why do people from north of the Mason-You-Know-What line where it snows 10 months a year and all their buildings are rusted keep moving here? Let’s get some perspective.

Instead of getting on the internet and fretting over gout or acid reflux or any of those other 3,660 keywords, type in “Southern cuisine” and read about pecan pie, fried green tomatoes, biscuits and gravy and Vidalia onions.

Search for “Ray Charles Robinson, of Albany, Georgia” and read about the greatest state song in the history of the world, “Georgia on My Mind.” Search the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Golden Isles and our Okefenokee and be reminded of our state’s natural beauty. You will feel better about yourself, and MEDvidi.com might then rank us below Mississippi, which would be a first. But whatever you do, don’t type in “Jeffrey Epstein.” Hypochondria will be the least of your problems. I get a headache just thinking about it.

You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139.