Implications of indiscriminate reassurance

Implications of indiscriminate reassurance
'Normal' people as well as obsessional patients have intrusive thoughts from time to time which are disturbing. For example, the patient who presents with nausea mayinterpret the symptom as being due to gastric cancer instead of alcohol-induced gastritis due to his regular drinking. He needs reassurance that cancer is not the cause of his problem,
And that the symptoms are due to excessive alcohol intake. The necessary investigations are carried out and are negative. The doctor then reassures the patient that all is well , That cancer plays not part . At first the patient is relieved  but  then sets about seekingg further reassurance, 'why did you do the investigations if you did not suspect cancer?" What if you have missed something?" 'I never thought i had cancer. Why did you mention it?" This response can lead to recurrent outpatient attendances, further investigations, further reassurance, and further anxiety. The vivious circles so set up has been described as the 'fear syndrome'.