Health and Psychology

The prevalence of anxiety or depression in people with physical illness ranges from estimates as low as 10% to as high as 70%.  When people continue to have physical symptoms and no diagnosis the rates rise.  The same is true with chronic illness after about the 8 week point. 

Support symptoms are able to adequately manage acute illness.  Everyone has an idea about what to say and do.  "Oh I hope you get better soon."  They send candy and flowe...

I met a delightful psychologist yesterday at a Los Angles County Psychological Association (LACPA) meeting specializing in providing services to chronic and persistent mentally ill patients.  We spent some time talking after the meeting about the similarites between chronic and persistent mental illness and chronic or undiagnosed physical illness.  We talked about the impact of anxiety, difficulties with compliance with treatment, problems with stimatization, and issues regarding in...

There is basic information that emergency personnel require for all patients.

• Full name of patient
• Age/date of birth
• medical symptoms
• medical diagnoses
• current medications including any vitamins, herbs, or food used as medication, doseage
  

This information should be known by all persons carrying for someone, and should be readily kept in a purse or wallet and updated as needed.

Many people have concerns about traditional medicine.  Although regulatory agencies have been set up to ensure both the safety and efficacy of medications, new side-effects and problems with medication are frequently reported in the news.  People have beliefs about physical illness and wellness which may conflict with traditional western medical ideas.  As a result people often turn to alternatives to western medicine either because they are afraid, they don't believe it is or ...

Many physical illnesses have psychological symptoms that accompany them.  Depression and anxiety are the most common of the psychological symptoms but psychosis, compulsions, hallucinations or delusions are not uncommon.  It is believed that about 70% of psychological symptoms may relate to undiagnosed or inadequately treated medical conditions.

Many types of medical conditions are known to cause psychological symptoms.  Infection is likely to cause depression...

There's a survey up on the site regarding headaches.  Most people are aware of two types of headaches--migraine and tension.  There are many different types of headaches besides those two.

Migraine headaches are vascular headaches frequently causing visual disturbances, sensitivity to light, sound, odors and noise.  They may be aggrivated by certain foods like cured meats, red wines, or aged cheeses.  With migraine headaches hands and feet frequently get ...

Jessica Jacobs died in August. She had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. She is also described as having Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. I say described because I’m not sure I believe that. I think she had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome with Autonomic Dysregulation and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is just a part of that. She lived most of her adult life in Washington, DC but moved back to Twain Harte, California when she became too disabled to continue working. She wanted t...