Hypochondriasis - Solving the Puzzle

Hypochondriasis - Solving the Puzzle

All too often have I met patients who have been told by medical doctors that their problem was "in your head," because there was no western medical disease label that could be given. These patients and their dismissal by western medical doctors drive my commitment to the knowledge I have that makes sense of puzzling, chronic conditions.

Mary Duenwald reported in "A New Era in Treating Imaginary Ills" (New York Times, March 24, 2004) that psychiatrists and psychologists have announced a new approach to helping "hypochondriacs." For people who complain of worries and problems that are not detected by medical doctors, they will use "cognitive therapy" and occasionally psychiatric drugs to help them stop focusing on "imaginary illness" and get on with their lives. The bottom line is: If they can't find a disease they recognize, it is classed as imaginary.

As an example of how their approach is tunnel-visioned:

"The Hypochondriac" illustration in the NY Times.

Other Hypochondriac cartoons

This "Imaginary Ills" approach shows that the Flat Earth Medicine way of understanding health and health care is still blocking access to effective treatment options. Their approach is short-sighted because they do not include the larger scope of knowledge available to practitioners of the Integrative Medicine approach. [See books by Hal Huggins, DDS, such as, It's All In Your Head.]

Below are some expanded ways of evaluating the person shown as The Hypochondriac. It falls into place if one uses the work of doctors and researchers of acumeridian theory, Ayurveda, and other non-mainstream systems of health care.

Clothing: He is wearing a mercury-processed felt hat-- at risk for “Mad Hatter Syndrome” with many mental and physical correlations (including the extensive drooling humorists have associated with the British elite). [See book by Hal Huggins, DDS, It's All In Your Head / Mecury toxicity references on Biological Dentistry page.]

Constricting clothing-- Reduced movement or Qi flow, lymph stasis, poor oxygenation.

Face: Sunken face and flaccid skin may be due to poor nutrition (overcooked food, little fruit or vegetables, white sugar, white flour-- possible indigestion, parasites, yeast, flatulence).

Teeth: May have dental infections and he may be missing teeth.

Eyes: Whites of the eyes show below iris when gazing straight ahead (“san paku”, Oriental medicine sign of imbalance).

TCM meridian understanding: “The Liver meridian opens to the eyes” reveals poor digestion, hypochondria, etc. (TCM organ information.)

Extremities: Fingertips show probable effects of poor oxygenation; he likely lived in closed house, heated with coal that produces mercury vapor and petrochemical fumes. He may have used oil or gas lighting.

Humorous presentation of this information:

Homo toxicanus: "new species of human."