manufactured hysteria

to make up something in one's mind, to then begin to believe it as true, and to act upon it as if it had really happened, working one's self into an angered state

bob thought his 30-year-old daughter did not want to get married and have children. bob's daughter assured him that she and her long-term boyfriend/fiance had agreed to wait until they could be live in the same city and continue their careers. bob continues to harp on daughter to give up her high-profile career in her state and move to boyfriend's, even though daughter continues to explain that she's licensed to do her business in her home state, not in her boyfriend's. dad nods and says he understands, then goes right back to giving daughter advice that she should move to boyfriend's state. the conversation goes around and around until dad has created his own manufactured hysteria.