Tuesday, June 24, 2008
An article about our study! (click here)
It's exciting! There is a thorough article about our study published in the New York magazine recently. It talks about the suffering of people with illness worries as well as describes the treatments we offer.
Check out the link!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
More thoughts on health and worries...
We live in the age of space exploration, wireless communication, heart transplants, and genetic engineering. Yet, we are still plagued by fears of death and diseases, maybe even more than our ancestors centuries ago. It seems that medical advances and technological progress did little to alleviate the mental angst of being mortal.
For some people, worries about having a serious undiagnosed illness or preoccupations with medically unexplained bodily sensations and symptoms mark a substantial part of their time or even take over and become the main focus of their daily life. Paradoxically, the desire to prevent getting seriously sick becomes a crippling force that takes the joy out of living, destroys relationships and pushes the affected person to go from doctor to doctor in an exhausting quest for a cure or a definitive diagnosis. On the other extreme, there are people who avoid doctor visits at all cost, terrified that their worst fears will be confirmed. Technology inadvertently adds to the suffering as people with illness worries are often powerless in the face of medical information bombarded with media, about diseases and epidemics, medical TV shows, and advertisements. There is the Internet, with detailed and graphic disease information just a click away at any time of day or night. There is even a new colloquial term “cyberchondriac” for a person who spends hours researching symptoms and diseases online unable to stop despite the mounting anxiety, sometimes to the point of feeling overwhelmed or developing a panic attack.
According to statistics, about one in a hundred of Americans has illness worries intense and prolonged enough to receive a clinical diagnosis of hypochondriasis. About one in ten to one in twenty-five people suffer from less intense illness worries that still affect their life. For a long time hypochondriasis was considered untreatable, and frustrated doctors were weary of such patients and anxious to get rid of them. Modern Western medicine is focused on diagnosing and treating intense and life-threatening conditions. For example, doctors can replace arteries, hearts, kidneys or bring back someone who suffered a serious injury, yet migraines, chronic pains, and fatigue are still not very well understood or treated. It seems mind-body interconnection is more at play there; an interconnection that science is still in the process of understanding. In the mean time, miscommunications between patients and physicians frequently lead to mutual dissatisfaction and wasted time, money, and other resources.
Lately, however, a substantial progress has been made in helping people to live a happier and more fulfilling life despite having some illness concerns or bothersome sensations. Clinical research conducted in the US, UK, Netherlands and Italy has shown that a group of medications – selective serotonin intake inhibitors – as well as a special type of psychotherapy – cognitive-behavioral therapy – are effective in helping people with illness worries to gain their life back. In addition, these treatments do not take long to make a difference – in 2 to 3 months patients notice a significant change in how they feel. There is another ongoing treatment study at Columbia and Harvard Universities that explores whether the combination of both psychotherapy and medication is better than each of the treatments alone. The medication works by correcting a chemical imbalance in the brain, while the psychotherapy teaches people new skills and habits to deal with illness concerns more effectively and to be less distressed by them.
Overall, excessive illness worry might seriously affect one’s life. It can linger on for years or even decades. There is no need to continue to suffer – there is hope and treatments that help. For more information about the disorder, diagnosis and help available visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondria
http://www.illnessworry.cumc.columbia.edu/ http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/3700/3783.asp?index=9886
http://www.thehealthstudy.com/index.html
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Influence of Others
The book "It's Not All in Your Head," by Dr's Gordan Asmundson and Steven Taylor, poses the question of to what degree the media influences our belief in the possibility we have a disease, on page 29. In 2003 the media focused heavily on reporting the danger of bioterrorism and SARS. symptoms of which were reported to be increase coughing and fever. As indicated by Asmundson and Taylor, such reports resulted in an increase in the general population's vigilance toward our own respiratory health. More interestingly, they report -as determined through their own research- people with heightened illness concern were more likely than those without heightened illness concern to attribute a regular cough to a more serious infection such as an anthrax infection, or the SARS virus. This is only one example of the manner in which the media can affect how much attention we pay to our bodily noises and feelings.
In Admundson and Taylor's book, they discuss what expert Dr. Arthur Barsky calls an, "amplifying somatic style" found in many people who worry a lot about having a serious disease. They say, "This style is characterized by the tendency to attend to and be bothered by a wide range of bodily sensations that aren't generally related to disease. This amplifying somatic style is believed to be a trait that may be biologically based or a product of learning during the early years of childhood." (Pg 31 of "It's Not All in Your Head") If you are wondering if your style of thinking about illness fits Dr. Barsky's description, talk to your doctor and to family and friends. Ask them to help you limit your media intake, and try to shield yourself from potentially distressing reports about illness in the news.
Paying attention to your body can be helpful in catching something before it becomes serious. However, if your doctor has assured you that a bodily sign is not related to a disease but instead to normal bodily functioning, you may have an amplifying somatic style. If so, and you find that you are getting agitated over media reports related to illness, then make sure to take special care to limit your intake of media outlets until you can seek help from family, friends, or a professional mental health specialist. A professional will be able to help you consider the ways in which you learned about illness as a child affect the way you perceive the media reports now, as well as determine ways to help moderate your worry.
Every day we are bombarded with new reports of bird flu, TB and all sorts of other epidemics crossing the world. When evaluating ourselves for an illness that we've heard about in the media, we must try to keep in mind that every time we notice something remarkable going on with our bodies, it may be an indication that we are simply paying more attention to our bodies than we usually would be. It is all too easy to attribute the warning signs listed on the news programs to our own bodies, and all we have to do is pay too close attention. We must keep in mind that oftentimes these "alarming" symptoms we feel are "false alarms;" that is to say, harmless sensations that prompt worry. (ERD)
In Admundson and Taylor's book, they discuss what expert Dr. Arthur Barsky calls an, "amplifying somatic style" found in many people who worry a lot about having a serious disease. They say, "This style is characterized by the tendency to attend to and be bothered by a wide range of bodily sensations that aren't generally related to disease. This amplifying somatic style is believed to be a trait that may be biologically based or a product of learning during the early years of childhood." (Pg 31 of "It's Not All in Your Head") If you are wondering if your style of thinking about illness fits Dr. Barsky's description, talk to your doctor and to family and friends. Ask them to help you limit your media intake, and try to shield yourself from potentially distressing reports about illness in the news.
Paying attention to your body can be helpful in catching something before it becomes serious. However, if your doctor has assured you that a bodily sign is not related to a disease but instead to normal bodily functioning, you may have an amplifying somatic style. If so, and you find that you are getting agitated over media reports related to illness, then make sure to take special care to limit your intake of media outlets until you can seek help from family, friends, or a professional mental health specialist. A professional will be able to help you consider the ways in which you learned about illness as a child affect the way you perceive the media reports now, as well as determine ways to help moderate your worry.
Every day we are bombarded with new reports of bird flu, TB and all sorts of other epidemics crossing the world. When evaluating ourselves for an illness that we've heard about in the media, we must try to keep in mind that every time we notice something remarkable going on with our bodies, it may be an indication that we are simply paying more attention to our bodies than we usually would be. It is all too easy to attribute the warning signs listed on the news programs to our own bodies, and all we have to do is pay too close attention. We must keep in mind that oftentimes these "alarming" symptoms we feel are "false alarms;" that is to say, harmless sensations that prompt worry. (ERD)
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
On change and men…
What makes us want to change?
What pushes through that dividing line between inaction and action?
What is the amount of suffering we are willing to put up with?
And at what point does internal “Enough!” become sufficiently loud to provoke a commitment?
We, humans, are amazing creatures - we can adjust to a lot of things: to hot weather, to living in a large city, to a totalitarian regime and even to our own crippling habits.
Smoking, drinking, binge eating and purging, obsessively checking your body for signs of diseases or constantly surfing internet for medical information – the list can go on.
However, there is hope – people can change and many do change. About half of people with an alcohol problem will eventually be able to stop this habit, and many will do it on their own. People quit smoking; learn to manage their depression or eating disorder, OCD or hypochondria… People learn to be better workers, parents, spouses… The capacity to adjustment comes very helpful as well.
As Goethe has pointed out,
We, humans, are amazing creatures - we can adjust to a lot of things: to hot weather, to living in a large city, to a totalitarian regime and even to our own crippling habits.
Smoking, drinking, binge eating and purging, obsessively checking your body for signs of diseases or constantly surfing internet for medical information – the list can go on.
However, there is hope – people can change and many do change. About half of people with an alcohol problem will eventually be able to stop this habit, and many will do it on their own. People quit smoking; learn to manage their depression or eating disorder, OCD or hypochondria… People learn to be better workers, parents, spouses… The capacity to adjustment comes very helpful as well.
As Goethe has pointed out,
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole steam of events issues from the decision.(NS)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
"Beauty Hypochondria"
Last year, patients worldwide spent $12.2 billion dollars on cosmetic procedures. As you can see by the statistics stated above, we in the United States endear a growing culture of cosmetic surgery, a culture which has a direct impact on our psychological lives as the notion of a “quick fix” becomes more prevalent and more accessible.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), in 2006 there were approximately 11.5 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States, 1.1 million of them surgical. Liposuction continues to reign as the most popular surgical procedure, followed closely by breast augmentation. Disturbingly enough, since 1997 (the year in which the ASAPS began keeping nationwide statistics on their procedures) there has been a 446 percent increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures. Of these increases, surgical procedures were seen to increase by 98 percent and non-surgical (such as laser hair removal) procedures by 747 percent.
As the demand goes up, price goes down, making cosmetic procedures of all kinds accessible to people from a varying scale of socio-economic backgrounds. It still may cost upwards of twelve thousand dollars to augment breasts in the United States, but in other countries where such procedures are also performed, for example Thailand, Lebanon, or Iran, the procedure may require a mere four thousand dollars, or a third of the price in the United States. Similar statistics suggest that per-capita demand in Lebanon, is comparable to that of the States. Cosmetic procedures are an undeniable growing global trend.
You may be wondering, what does this have to do with hypochondria? In the words of Carla Cantor from her book Phantom Illness (a book which documents her own hypochondriacal experiences with the help of collaborator Dr. Brian Fallon), she answers succinctly, “Plenty.” (pg 126) On the relentless search for the “perfect body,” we become less accepting of who we really are; wrinkles, rolls, sags, and smiles, not to mention fluttering heart rates, periodic headaches, and bothersome indigestion included. This cosmetic culture has, in Cantor’s words, “redefined virtue as health, confusing the moral with the physical,” thereby endowing many of us with the sense that money can buy spiritual rest and physical satisfaction.
Ms. Cantor discusses in her book how Dr. Arthur Barsky, a psychologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, believes hypochondria to be “primarily a problem of cognitive and perceptual distortion,” which is recruited in a process he deems amplification. “[People who are] Amplifiers…are more sensitive to minor physical sensations and have a greater awareness than others of the grumblings, twitches, and creaks of the body…Their discomfort frightens them and they become anxious…[creating a] loop in which each form of suffering perpetuates and intensifies the other.” (pg. 94).
If Dr. Barsky is right, it seems that the more attention you pay a symptom, the more discomforting the symptom can become, and the more serious it may seem. Similarly, as evidenced by the high-profile case of Tara Reid , the more cosmetic surgery she underwent, the more dissatisfied she became.
Obsession with a part of the body perceived to be deformed or ugly is called dysmorphophobia, or body dysmophic disorder, and is colloquially referred to as “beauty hypochondria.” (pg. 51) Catastrophic thinking about one’s symptoms can lead to hyper vigilance, which in turn can increase self-checking and contribute to lower self- esteem, thereby influencing one to seek medical attention. There are many treatments available, but if you think you are suffering from hypochondria, please consult a mental health professional to determine which treatment is best for you.
In the meantime, do something nice for yourself today. Shut off the media’s inundation of celebrity self-obsession, hide your mirrors, and chant this old mantra: “I am the center of love and light. I bring blessings of good to others and to myself….” (ERD)
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), in 2006 there were approximately 11.5 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States, 1.1 million of them surgical. Liposuction continues to reign as the most popular surgical procedure, followed closely by breast augmentation. Disturbingly enough, since 1997 (the year in which the ASAPS began keeping nationwide statistics on their procedures) there has been a 446 percent increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures. Of these increases, surgical procedures were seen to increase by 98 percent and non-surgical (such as laser hair removal) procedures by 747 percent.
As the demand goes up, price goes down, making cosmetic procedures of all kinds accessible to people from a varying scale of socio-economic backgrounds. It still may cost upwards of twelve thousand dollars to augment breasts in the United States, but in other countries where such procedures are also performed, for example Thailand, Lebanon, or Iran, the procedure may require a mere four thousand dollars, or a third of the price in the United States. Similar statistics suggest that per-capita demand in Lebanon, is comparable to that of the States. Cosmetic procedures are an undeniable growing global trend.
You may be wondering, what does this have to do with hypochondria? In the words of Carla Cantor from her book Phantom Illness (a book which documents her own hypochondriacal experiences with the help of collaborator Dr. Brian Fallon), she answers succinctly, “Plenty.” (pg 126) On the relentless search for the “perfect body,” we become less accepting of who we really are; wrinkles, rolls, sags, and smiles, not to mention fluttering heart rates, periodic headaches, and bothersome indigestion included. This cosmetic culture has, in Cantor’s words, “redefined virtue as health, confusing the moral with the physical,” thereby endowing many of us with the sense that money can buy spiritual rest and physical satisfaction.
Ms. Cantor discusses in her book how Dr. Arthur Barsky, a psychologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, believes hypochondria to be “primarily a problem of cognitive and perceptual distortion,” which is recruited in a process he deems amplification. “[People who are] Amplifiers…are more sensitive to minor physical sensations and have a greater awareness than others of the grumblings, twitches, and creaks of the body…Their discomfort frightens them and they become anxious…[creating a] loop in which each form of suffering perpetuates and intensifies the other.” (pg. 94).
If Dr. Barsky is right, it seems that the more attention you pay a symptom, the more discomforting the symptom can become, and the more serious it may seem. Similarly, as evidenced by the high-profile case of Tara Reid , the more cosmetic surgery she underwent, the more dissatisfied she became.
Obsession with a part of the body perceived to be deformed or ugly is called dysmorphophobia, or body dysmophic disorder, and is colloquially referred to as “beauty hypochondria.” (pg. 51) Catastrophic thinking about one’s symptoms can lead to hyper vigilance, which in turn can increase self-checking and contribute to lower self- esteem, thereby influencing one to seek medical attention. There are many treatments available, but if you think you are suffering from hypochondria, please consult a mental health professional to determine which treatment is best for you.
In the meantime, do something nice for yourself today. Shut off the media’s inundation of celebrity self-obsession, hide your mirrors, and chant this old mantra: “I am the center of love and light. I bring blessings of good to others and to myself….” (ERD)
Friday, August 31, 2007
A Quote
Recently, I came across an interesting quote, which was written almost 50 years ago, but hasn't lost its power.
"Modern" man remains unwilling to apply to self-understanding the very scientific attitudes and principles which have won him awesome material and technical ascendancy. This is the twentieth-century paradox - the man is more and more the master of things, but dangerously obsolete in his techniques for understanding and mastering himself. R. B. Cattell & I. H. Scheier (1961) (NS)
"Modern" man remains unwilling to apply to self-understanding the very scientific attitudes and principles which have won him awesome material and technical ascendancy. This is the twentieth-century paradox - the man is more and more the master of things, but dangerously obsolete in his techniques for understanding and mastering himself. R. B. Cattell & I. H. Scheier (1961) (NS)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hello and Welcome!
Hello everyone! I am excited to start this new page and look forward to sharing the information I have with you.
Although this blog is not open for comments from my readers, please feel free to email me with suggestions at illnessconcern@gmail.com.
Thank you for visiting my new blog, and please return soon for more resources! (NS)
Although this blog is not open for comments from my readers, please feel free to email me with suggestions at illnessconcern@gmail.com.
Thank you for visiting my new blog, and please return soon for more resources! (NS)
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