The 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.)
Posts Tagged ‘Stress History’
Linking Stresses and Symptoms (2)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Linking 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…)
The Stress History
Monday, November 16th, 2009Negative life events that persist for more than a short time sometimes can cause physical symptoms. We can divide the wide range of issues that can do this into five major categories, which simplifies the diagnostic process considerably. In evaluating medically unexplained symptoms, I inquire into each category in a process called taking the Stress History. I do this after having acquired a clear chronology of the patient’s illness. I know when and where symptoms began and their pattern over time. This often enables me to find links between symptoms and stresses. For example, I often ask if anything stressful occurred just prior to the onset of the illness. When I find these connections in timing, it increases the likelihood that the stress is responsible for the symptom.
Bringing Vision to the Blind Spot
Sunday, November 15th, 2009The good news is that hundreds of millions of people do not have to suffer needlessly from stress illness. The solution will take time and effort but what needs to be done is clear.
