Today’s Mental Health Notes post is a treat indeed, as I was able to interview Dr. David Clarke, author of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness.

Dr. Clarke defines “stress illness” as an illness that is caused by various kinds of life stresses, both past and present.

Read on as Dr. Clarke explains how we can spot, diagnosis, and treat stress illness; provides suggestions on how to deal with doctors who may not appropriately handle stress illness; and offers eight little words that can change the way you look at your health.

Mental Health Notes: In a brief nutshell, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! is a book about stress illness. Can you tell us exactly what stress illness is, and what prompted you to tackle this subject?

Dr. David Clarke: As the name implies, stress illness is illness caused by any of several types of past or present life stresses. The physical symptoms are just as real and can be just as severe as those caused by any other disease.

My interest in this condition began 25 years ago when I encountered patients whose diagnostic tests were all normal. I didn’t know these patients had stress illness because medical training pays little attention to this condition, even though over half of all medical patients fall into this category. Fortunately, I learned how to solve these medical mysteries from a psychiatrist who was also trained in diagnostic medicine. She taught me that by asking the right questions I could find the cause of the symptoms and then treat them successfully.

MHN: Did you write the book with a particular audience in mind, or can everyone benefit?

DC: The book will benefit three groups of people: medical patients whose illness is not explained by diagnostic tests, their doctors and anyone who is struggling with stress in their life whether they are physically ill or not.

The heart of the book is four dozen stories about people who overcame a variety of life stresses. They achieved this even though initially they often did not fully comprehend what they were coping with. The stories enable readers to gain insight into their own lives, which is the essential first step toward positive change.

MHN: If a person has a stress illness, are there any clues they can detect on their own? Do these clues have anything to do with the “five types of hidden stress” you cover in your book?

DC: The five types of stress are prolonged effects of stress from childhood, stress in your life at the moment and three mental health conditions: depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress. The presence of any of these may be largely or completely hidden. The most important clue that a hidden stress may be responsible for an illness is that diagnostic tests fail to reveal a cause for the physical symptoms. Some other clues that you might have a hidden stress are that you:

1. Would never want an innocent child to grow up experiencing what you did as a child.
2. Always seem to find yourself in relationships where you are treated disrespectfully.
3. Have lost interest or pleasure in activity you previously enjoyed.
4. Care for everyone else in your world but rarely take time for yourself.
5. Have a low general energy level.
6. Feel depressed, down or sad much of the time.
7. Are unable to control or stop feeling anxious, worried, on edge or nervous.
8. Are bothered by unwanted memories from a traumatic, terrifying or horrifying personal experience.
9. If you had a list of everything in your life that causes stress, tension, worry, anger or fear you would feel sorry if a friend was coping with the same list.
10. Have an addiction or an eating disorder.
11. Cut, burn or otherwise deliberately injure yourself.

MHN: What are the most common physical health problems that stress can cause? Have you stumbled upon any “uncommon” physical health problems caused by stress?

DC: Symptoms can occur anywhere from head to toe and include pain, dizziness, muscle or joint stiffness, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, sleeping problems and many others. The symptoms in stress illness are just as real and can be just as severe as the symptoms of any other disease. Some of my patients have been hospitalized and a few have even had surgery that, of course, did not help. Though many stress illness patients have just one symptom, the more symptoms a patient has the more likely it is that stress illness is responsible.

Sometimes stress illness causes unusual symptoms. One of my patients had itching of patches of his skin in a different bodily location each day. For example, one day his hands would itch, the next day the itching was between the shoulder blades, the day after that his upper left chest would itch and so on. Another patient had pain on the left side of her body from the armpit to the upper thigh. Despite their unusual nature, the symptoms in both of these patients were relieved after one and eighteen months respectively.

MHN: Of the “7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness,” is there any one more important than the other? Is there one that you would encourage readers to remember, even if they didn’t understand anything else in the book?

DC: The 7 Keys work together like the segments of an arch to build a foundation for positive life changes. So it is difficult to single one out. But if I had to select one concept that may stand out a little, it is that the childhood environment for about half of my adult patients left them with an inaccurate, negative self-image. This can have a subtle but significant adverse impact on their lives that my patients usually do not fully recognize. The book will give readers insights in this area that can change how they live every day.

MHN: Do you think some doctors are unwilling to delve into stress-related illnesses? And if so, why? Are the steps to diagnosis too complicated, or are the doctors too narrow minded?

DC: Few doctors have had any formal training about stress illness. Consequently, many are frustrated by their inability to diagnose it or they conclude that the condition is not part of their job. This is unacceptable for an illness that is responsible for over half of all medical office visits. Fortunately, most health care professionals who read my book can learn to correctly diagnose and treat most patients with stress illness.

MHN: What advice would you offer someone who is clearly ill, but can’t find a doctor who’s willing to look beyond the lack of physical explanations?

DC: This is a tragically common situation. Many people experience relief of symptoms from reading my book and following its treatment advice. Those who remain ill should communicate the personal insights they acquire from the book to their health care provider and ask for additional advice. These patients may benefit from referral to a mental health professional, from prescription medication or from additional counseling by their primary clinician. They may also benefit from the information on the website www.stressillness.com.

MHN: Are people who suffer from undiagnosed stress illness more prone to self-medicate?

DC: When significant life stresses are hidden it is difficult or impossible to change them significantly. The resulting emotional pain may be severe with no obvious source of relief. Some people in this situation will find no better solution than to relieve the suffering with drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Some patients develop other addictions such as to work, exercise, shopping, food, gambling or sex and some develop eating disorders or engage in self-mutilation. A tragic few commit suicide.

MHN: In your experience, have you ever met a patient who suffered from a stress illness and had trouble getting his or her insurance carrier to cover the cost of care?

DC: No. Insurance carriers see little difference between a patient with, say, abdominal pain from an ulcer and a patient with abdominal pain from stress illness. Unfortunately, most health insurance companies have not yet recognized how much unnecessary diagnostic testing occurs when clinicians fail to diagnose stress illness correctly. I am optimistic that in the future they will all insist on a routine stress evaluation.

MHN: They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! has received rave reviews from people in various health professions and patients alike. If, in 20 years, no one can remember a thing from it, is there one bit of information you hope they will retain?

DC: Just eight words: Stress Causes Real Symptoms, Effective Treatment Is Available.

MHN: I think that definitely sums it up nicely. Thank you for your time, Dr. Clarke!

Dr. David Clarke received his B. A. in psychology from Williams College (Phi Beta Kappa), and his medical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1979. Since then he has successfully cared for thousands of patients with stress illness, often sent to him after other doctors were unable to help them. He has been a visiting professor at several international hospitals, including Oxford. He was also named a Top Doctor in the Portland Monthly magazine physician review in 2005 and 2006.

Dr. Clarke is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Senior Scholar at the Center for Ethics in Health care both at Oregon Health and Science University. He is also a Clinical Instructor at Pacific University and a member of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, and has practiced in Portland, Oregon since 1984. He was Ethics Director for his medical group from 2005 to 2008.

David Clarke has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care. He developed and presented a monthly seminar on stress illness for patients and local doctors have given their patients tens of thousands of copies of his brochure on this topic. He lives in Happy Valley, Oregon, which is near Portland.

Thanks to Dr. Clarke and Sentient Publications, Mental Health Notes will soon hold a contest to win a free copy of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness. In the meantime, you can learn more at www.stressillness.com, and even order a copy today from Amazon and Borders.

Images: Dr. David Clarke

Post from: Blisstree

Dr. David Clarke Speaks About Stress Illness And His Book, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!