At any one time there are a great many people with physical symptoms. These range from minor coughs and colds to more severe and threatening symptoms. How people interpret physical symptoms and seek help for them is a fascinating aspect of human behaviour. Common sense would suggest that people who seek help for their symptoms are suffering from more severe symptoms than those who do not seek medical attention. However, research shows that this is incorrect. People’s interpretation of symptoms and their help-seeking behaviour is determined by a large number of factors aside from physiological activity and symptom severity.