My first “best-seller” was a brochure for patients titled “Is Stress Making You Ill?” Clinicians in my medical group ordered thousands every year to put in examination rooms. I found that if a patient was reading one as I entered the room, it usually turned out that stress was causing their symptoms. The brochure often triggered discussions that helped me with diagnosis.
Archive for the ‘Stress Illness Causes’ Category
Stress Illness Brochure (1)
Monday, December 14th, 2009Linking Stresses and Symptoms (3)
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009It comes as a surprise to many, that mental health conditions like Depression, the Anxiety disorders or Post-Traumatic Stress may manifest themselves predominantly as a physical illness. As a result, people suffering from these conditions may have no idea what is causing their symptoms. Many people with Depression, for example, don’t feel particularly depressed. So what are the clues that point us toward these diagnoses? I usually ask the following questions: (more…)
Linking Stresses and Symptoms (2)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009The biggest shock of my medical education was learning that stress in childhood could make an adult physically ill. Symptoms may be mild or can be so severe that hospital treatment is needed. (I cared for one 35 year old childhood stress survivor in the hospital for 77 days. It took five years, but she is now entirely well.)
Linking Stresses and Symptoms (1)
Sunday, December 6th, 2009Whether you are a patient with stress illness or a clinician, there is an art to finding hidden stresses and their links to physical symptoms. Fortunately, the basic principles are straightforward. A good way to start is by writing a chronology of the symptoms, starting with the beginning of the illness and then recording the pattern since. Next, look for stresses that occurred at times the symptoms were prominent. The following list of questions may help: (more…)
Mental Health Professionals and Physicians (Intro)
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009Millions of people who could benefit significantly from a few visits with a mental health professional never get the chance. This is because the psychosocial stresses they are coping with manifest primarily as physical symptoms. When they go to a medical office, diagnostic tests are normal because the stress causes no visible damage to the body. Most of the time, neither the physician nor the patient knows what to do next.
Adults who had Stress in Childhood (5)
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009For the million American children identified by social agencies as being maltreated every year, and for the many more whose abuse is not brought to the attention of authorities, a new study* shows that the long shadow of their misfortune falls on their economic potential as adults.
Adults who had Stress in Childhood (4)
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009The long-term effects of childhood stress impact relationships and mood in adults. The study* described in the last post surveyed 380 women who came to a general medical clinic. In addition to questions about abuse in childhood, patients were surveyed about whether they had ever experienced intimate-partner violence (IPV) and also about depression. (The vast majority of those who had experienced IPV were no longer in an abusive relationship.)
Adults who had Stress in Childhood (3)
Monday, November 30th, 2009Adult patients seen by primary care medical clinicians often are affected by stress in childhood. Recent evidence of this is a study of 380 women at a medical clinic at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland *. Their survey asked about physical or sexual childhood abuse and assessed the impact of these on physical symptoms.
Adults who had Stress in Childhood (2)
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009Researchers have been shocked at the profound impact childhood stress can have on health in adults. The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) Study *, led by my friend Vincent Felitti, MD in San Diego, is one of the best examples. They studied 18,000 people who were having routine check-ups. You can read a summary here .
Adults who had Stress in Childhood (1)
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009Childhood stress can cast a long shadow. Thanksgiving week is an appropriate time to look at the issue since this holiday is often a challenge for my patients who are still in touch with their families of origin.
