Question:
The NIH is supposed to be studying aspects of mental stress on human health
this year. I always find it interesting that every physician knows that
stress can play a role in overall physical health yet they always seem to
dismiss it under treatment protocols. The NIH is at least respected so if
they do publish anything soon maybe things will improve.
Answer:
I just recently read somewhere that physicians often don't go into the
stress/mental health aspects of illness much as it is pretty much outside
their "area", so to speak. So they refer patients to
psychiatrists/psychologists, etc just as they would refer a patient to any
other specialty.
There was a study published in the April 14th Journal of the American
Medical Association concerning stress and how addressing stressful issues
(like emotions, fears, beliefs, traumas, etc) can result in measurable
improvements in the two illnesses they happened to study
Conclusion Patients with mild to moderately severe asthma or rheumatoid
arthritis who wrote about stressful life experiences had clinically relevant changes
in health status at 4 months compared with those in the control group. These gains
were beyond those attributable to the standard medical care that all participants were
receiving. It remains unknown whether these health improvements will
persist beyond 4 months or whether this exercise will prove effective with other diseases.
Since stress affects just about all illnesses (and is particularly bad for
us PWCs) and writing/journaling is a technique that can be used with just
about any illness, this study suggests that there is a good possibility
that this approach could be beneficial for other illnesses also.
I don't think this type of study or information means that we are to blame
for any illness or that illness is all in our heads, but that the mental
and emotional aspects of ourselves are integral to our health and health
can be significantly improved by addressing these aspects. No one knows how
helpful these techniques can potentially be. Stresses, beliefs, fears, etc
are obstacles to healing and health, and by addressing/eliminating them our
bodies are able to function better.
Yes, this tallies with my experience. It also makes some sense, if the
psych is trained to recognize the stress aspects of illness as well as the
effects that stress can have on illness. But it seems to me that there are
other approaches that are even more effective, that some people are
beginning to understand and explore.
