no worse feeling in the world than hearing a doctor confidently tell you that it's all in your head and that you're wasting their time. Ask me how I know..
it's wild to me, because ME/CFS can, in rare cases, be terminal. autopsy reveals various findings: inflammation of the dorsal root ganglion, degeneration of the frontal lobe, metabolic issues and tangles of proteins in neurons and glia.
RIP to the author of "The Sleepy Girl's Guide to SSDI", who died young to ME/CFS, attributed to neuroinflammation in her autopsy.
Nocebos, the opposite of placebos, are extremely interesting. [1] The thing most people don't appreciate about placebos (and nocebos) is that the effect isn't just 'in your head.' It actually physically manifests - people can e.g. recover from illnesses measurably more quickly with placebos.
And the opposite is true of nocebos. So for instance one of the most common examples of nocebos is somebody will be given a terminal cancer diagnosis but then die long before the cancer could have been the cause of their death. They're so convinced that they're dying imminently that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. I expect a similar phenomena is why elderly couples tend to follow each other into the grave in short order. Dying of heart break or loneliness is not necessarily just rhetorical.
if only we could objectively (and easily) measure pain and energy levels (feeling tired) and even stress. stress is used here as a dismissal (not by you but the hypothetical doctor you are parodying) but stress too is a real health factor that people need help with.
I agree with this, as a monist. Unfortunately medicine is still very much in its infancy in this regard - many things are too subtle or just still hidden.
sterlind|1 year ago
RIP to the author of "The Sleepy Girl's Guide to SSDI", who died young to ME/CFS, attributed to neuroinflammation in her autopsy.
somenameforme|1 year ago
And the opposite is true of nocebos. So for instance one of the most common examples of nocebos is somebody will be given a terminal cancer diagnosis but then die long before the cancer could have been the cause of their death. They're so convinced that they're dying imminently that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. I expect a similar phenomena is why elderly couples tend to follow each other into the grave in short order. Dying of heart break or loneliness is not necessarily just rhetorical.
Basically, the mind is extremely powerful.
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo
rvense|1 year ago
"No."
"It's probably stress, then."
em-bee|1 year ago
scotty79|1 year ago
scotty79|1 year ago
I think there are no actual psychological diseases. All have underlying physical causes.
ndileas|1 year ago
dennis_jeeves2|1 year ago