Psychosomatic Medicine Books - Page 3

Hyper-chondriac: One Man's Quest to Hurry Up and Calm Down

Brian Frazer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Does your blood pressure surge if the car in front of you turns without signaling? Do your neck veins pulsate when a cashier takes too long to ring you up? Does relaxing seem like it'll have to wait until you're dead? Then your name could very well be Brian Frazer.

On paper, Frazer is the world's healthiest guy. He eats right, exercises regularly, gets plenty of sleep, has never smoked and has missed only one day of flossing in the last five years. But inside he's a swirling vortex of angst, capable of contracting a new malady every month. Once Frazer realized that all his ills were tied to stress, he went on a quixotic quest for calm, venturing into everything from Tai Chi, serotonin blockers and Kabbalah to an unfortunate incident involving pineapple-chicken curry at a Craniosacral therapy session. Never has the road to wellville taken so many unforeseen turns.

Achingly funny, uncomfortably true and always entertaining, Hyperchondriac is just the medicine for anyone who wants to take it down a notch.

The Healing Brain: Breakthrough Discoveries About How the Brain Keeps Us Healthy

Robert Ornstein, David Sobel

Amazon Price: $14.99 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Malor Books Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $7.00

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Psychosomatic Medicine

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good intro to the most interesting item in the universe. 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Robert Ornstein is a neurobiologist and co-author David Sobel is an M.D., and together they can write. This is a clear, readable, informative introduction to the brain and its impact on human health - surely one of the most fascinating frontiers in medicine. I read the 1986 edition of the book; some smart paperback publisher should get Ornstein and Sobel to write a new chapter summarizing the latest research in this fast changing field.

Tremendous Insight Into The Mind 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book provided me with a great deal of insight into the connectivity between the brain and the mechanics of the body, the power of thought in reference to brain chemistry, and the tremendous influence of brain chemistry over the actions and reactions I take. A must read in conjunction with this book is Healthy Mind Health Body the Handbook.

First Rate;Speculative,Positive, and Reflective: 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for the sake of research without a referal.Not only was it a wealth of facts, its operational premise, which could be stated as "the brain studying the brain" has to be both medicinal and evolutionary. I have had great insight and fun with the observations of lizard brain versus mammalian brain.
Neural, social, enviromental,anthropological,modern, ancient,philosophic, profound and chatty, it is good to have a whole brain that insists on healing itself it the sane context of getting at the meaning of life."Emotions existed before we did" is past brilliant. Thank you Orstein for thinking outloud!

Editorial Review:

Breakthrough discoveries about how the brain keeps us healthy. 

When Psychological Problems Mask Medical Disorders: A Guide for Psychotherapists

James Morrison

Amazon Price: $49.00 List Price: $49.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The Guilford Press Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $4.35

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Clinical Psychology

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great reference 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This is a great resource for clinicians. Differentiating between medical and psychological disorders is critical in the practice of health care, as they obviously require quite different modes of treatment. Dr. Morrison has formatted his book in a very easy-to-follow style, where each chapter describes a particular medical problem as well as a discussion of the psychological effects that this given medical disorder can produce. This book is a must-have for those practitioners not specifically trained in medicine in order to avoid making the mistake of overlooking a medical condition in diagnosis.

I recommend this book to every health care provider.

Editorial Review:

From decreased alertness and apathy to agitation, suspicion, and hallucinations, a wide range of psychological symptoms may sometimes point toward serious medical disorders. Helping clinicians "think outside the mental health box," James Morrison provides a clear and systematic guide to the effects upon mental status of 60 health conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke. This practical book will help readers hone their diagnostic skills and recognize when a physician's evaluation may be urgently needed.

From Paralysis to Fatigue: A History of Psychosomatic Illness in the Modern Era

Edward Shorter

List Price: $27.95 By: Free Press Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $1.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The authors long term perspective challenges current fads 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.

The author has successfully applied an historian's long range perspective to currents fads and trends in health care. His view will save us from the laughter of our grandchildren and perhaps keep us and them from making the same mistakes over and over. This is history that is useful today. History as a prescription for todays ills.

Definitive book on psychosomatic illness 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This is a very well researched book which is also very easy and pleasant to read. The author has scoured libraries for contemporary accounts of psychosomatic illness, mostly from physicians but sometimes from patients as well.

Shorter describes the history of psychosomatic illness from the first written accounts up to the present day. In doing so he shows how theories have changed over the centuries, and also how the symptoms themselves have changed as patients unconsciously "choose" which symptoms will be believed (although I have my doubts about whether or not this is actually the case).

The book contains many accounts of psychosomatic illness, some of which are quite entertaining (although probably not for the patients themselves).

My only criticism of the book is the lack of science. Shorter doesn't try to give any theories about the nature of psychosomatic illness and seems to think that all psychosomatic symptoms are simply generated by the unconscious mind, which can change them at will. This seems to go against known physiology, which shows that certain psychosomatic reactions (such as the defecation response to fear) are hard-wired into the nervous system and happen in animals as well as humans. Perhaps there are different types of psychosomatic illness with different causes and different physiology, but Shorter doesn't address this. While this isn't a major shortcoming for a book that only professes to discuss the history of psychosomatic illness, Shorter does give the impression of having a mildly negative opinion of the "somatizers" he describes.

Overall, however, it is a very good read and I couldn't put it down. For anyone at all interested in psychosomatic illness this book is a must-have.

Editorial Review:

The first book to put the physical symptoms of stress in their historical andcultural context, Shorter's fascinating history shows how patients throughoutthe centuries have experienced symptoms of stress in tandem with the culturalshifts of larger society.

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The Brain-Gut Connection

Brenda B. Toner, Zindel V. Segal, Shelagh D. Emmott, David Myran

Amazon Price: $32.00 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The Guilford Press Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $18.00

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, causing pain, discomfort, and embarrassment to millions. While medically based treatments have demonstrated only limited effectiveness, recent research strongly supports the role of psychosocial factors in both symptom expression and symptom control. This book presents a brief cognitive-behavioral treatment approach that is suitable for use with individuals or groups. Delineating a clear medical rationale, the authors help clinicians both to reduce the stigma associated with IBS and to overcome client resistance to psychological treatment. Effective techniques are outlined for helping clients manage anxiety, anger, and shame; enhance their self-efficacy and stress management skills; and alleviate gastrointestinal distress. Session-by-session guidelines are illuminated by such useful features as sample therapist-client dialogues, lists of important points to cover, troubleshooting tips, and examples of recommended handouts and forms. Also covered in depth are treatment issues specific to women.

Feeling Better: A 6-Week Mind-Body Program to Ease Your Chronic Symptoms

Arthur J. Barsky, Emily C. Deans

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Do you suffer from ongoing pain or other chronic medical symptoms such as fatigue, lower back pain, arthritis, acid indigestion, insomnia, or migraines? Do you feel as though your symptoms are taking over your life?

Thirty percent of the population suffers from chronic debilitating illnesses and pain that respond only partially to conventional medicine, but this doesn't mean that there is no relief in sight. Dr. Arthur Barsky, psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, has found that changing the way you think about your illness can have a remarkable effect on how you experience your symptoms. The groundbreaking program he offers in Stop Being Your Symptoms and Start Being Yourself teaches patients to master the five psychological factors that make chronic symptoms persist through hundreds of exercises, worksheets, and patient examples.

You may not be able to completely eliminate your medical symptoms, but it is possible to control your symptoms rather than letting them control you—and this book shows you how.

Mind-Body Deceptions: The Psychosomatics of Everyday Life

Steven L. Dubovsky

List Price: $29.95 By: W W Norton & Co Inc Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $0.80

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Editorial Review:

"For the intelligent layman this is the most useful book available on contemporary psychiatry. It presents a balanced picture of how the mind affects the body and how the body affects the mind. Dr. Dubovsky does not talk down to his readers, but conveys the most current scientific data and methods in a very understandable, creative, and well-written manner".--Gary J. Tucker, M.D., University of Washington.

The Hidden Meaning of Illness: Disease As a Symbol and Metaphor

Bob Trowbridge

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Physiological Aspects

Editorial Review:

Illnesses have meaning in the same way that dreams have meaning. They are messages from our psyche -- our inner self -- which can be interpreted and understood. Bob Trowbridge, a former Presbyterian minister and a well-known lecturer and counselor, examines how illness represents only a symbol of our real problem: the imbalance in our thinking, attitudes, and feelings. This helpful book explains how illness begins, how we use illness, how we can understand it, how we can heal it, and, as a consequence, heal our spiritual selves.

Minding the Body: Clinical Uses of Somatic Awareness

Donald Bakal

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Outstanding discussion on mind-body and body-mind awarene 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Donald Bakal presents an outstanding discussion on mind-body and body-mind awarenesses. Of particular interest is a discussion of people who are densely insensitive to their bodies and to their mental and emotional connection with their bodies. Where many people who are suffering pain or other symptoms can productively answer the question, "What do you think/feel your body is saying?" these people may even be unaware of the possibility that their bodies may be symptomatic due to psychological tensions in their lives. When asked about factors that might contribute to their symptoms, they draw a complete blank.

The fact that their bodies are complaining about disharmonies in their lives may be grossly evident to caregivers, but it may be extremely difficult or impossible for caregivers to raise the body awareness of these people to a point that they can deal with their body problems in any way other than physical interventions. These people prefer medications and surgery - i.e. to have others "fix" them - rather than the spectrum of wholistic approaches that is the focus of the IJHC.

This suggests that people may self-select into treatment modalities that are consonant with their beliefs and awarenesses. Counselors may be treating a very different population from those seen in a chirpractor's or acupuncturist's office - despite the fact that the symptoms presented by these populations may be similar.

Bakal has good discussions on a variety of interventions that help wholistically, addressing the meaning behind the symptoms. His approach is from the body side of the spectrum, rather than from the psychological side - which makes for interesting reading for those who are coming from the opposite side of this continuum.

Editorial Review:

There is growing scientific evidence that somatic awareness--the ability to perceive, interpret, and act upon the basis of one's own internal bodily sensations--can be a powerful tool in maintaining health and facilitating recovery from illness. This book examines the nature of somatic awareness and evaluates its clinical utility across a wide range of medical conditions, including migraine, unexplained dizziness and shortness of breath, and immune system illnesses such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. Integrating holistic and traditional health care considerations, chapters describe how mental health and medical practitioners can help patients harness "the placebo effect" and other inner resources for healing.

The Placebo Response: How You Can Release the Body's Inner Pharmacy for Better Health

Howard Brody, Daralyn Brody

List Price: $25.00 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $0.01

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From a distinguished physician and medical ethicist, here is the definitive scientific investigation of the mysterious mind-body healing process. Did you know that:You'll heal faster after surgery if you see trees and grass outside your window than if you're looking at a brick wall.After asthmatic children were given vanilla aroma to use with their inhalers, their asthma eventually improved in response to the vanilla alone, even when the inhalers contained no active drug.Some patients who had sham angina surgery performed in a double-blind experiment showed improvements lasting six months or more, which their physicians could not distinguish from the results in patients who had had the real surgery.When people watched a movie showing Mother Teresa taking care of the poor in Calcutta, their bodies secreted extra amounts of salivary immunoglobulin A, a major germ-fighting chemical.When Japanese teenagers, who were allergic to a tree similar to poison ivy, were touched with leaves from a harmless chestnut tree, they developed severe rashes. When touched with the poisonous leaves but told they were chestnut, they had no reaction whatsoever.When a new medical treatment is introduced with much excitement and hope, the first patients to receive it typically show a seventy percent positive response rate, even in cases where the treatment--on more careful study-is shown to be medically worthless.

The Placebo Response, grounded in comprehensive research, presents a convincing case that we can harness our inner pharmacy for better health and healing.