The Psychology of Physical Symptoms

The Psychology of Physical Symptoms
Author: J.W. Pennebaker
Publisher: James Pennebaker
Total Pages: 205
Release: 1982-10-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0387907300

Physical symptoms are fascinating phenomena to examine. We all experience them, use them as signals to guide our behavior, and usually assume that they accurately represent underlying physiological activity. At the same time, we implicitly know that bodily sensations are often vague, ambiguous, and subject to a variety of interpretations. It is not surprising, then, that there is often a disparity between what we think is going on in our bodies and what is objectively occurring. In short, phenomena such as physical symptoms are the stuff of psychology. My own research into physical symptoms started by accident several years ago. In a hastily devised experiment dealing with the effects of noise on behavior, I had to write a post-experimental questionnaire that would be long enough to allow the experimenter time to calibrate some equipment for a later portion of the study. I included some physical symptoms on the questionnaire as fillers. The experiment was a total failure, with the exception of the symptom reports. People's perceptions of symptoms were easily influenced by our manipulations, even though their actual physiological state had not changed. And so began the present inquiry. Despite the pervasiveness, importance, and sheer amount of time and money devoted to discussing and curing common physical symptoms and sensations, very little empirical work has been devoted to examining the psychological and perceptual factors related to sensory experience. Occa sional papers have tested a specific theory, such as cognitive dissonance, wherein physical symptoms served as an interesting dependent measure.

The Science of Self-report

The Science of Self-report
Author: Arthur A. Stone
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 393
Release: 1999-08
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1135677417

This collection of chapters on the many issues involved in collecting, interpreting, and working with self-report data will be invaluable to scholars and professionals in the mental and behavioral sciences.

The Psychology of Physical Symptoms

The Psychology of Physical Symptoms
Author: J.W. Pennebaker
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1461381967

Physical symptoms are fascinating phenomena to examine. We all experience them, use them as signals to guide our behavior, and usually assume that they accurately represent underlying physiological activity. At the same time, we implicitly know that bodily sensations are often vague, ambiguous, and subject to a variety of interpretations. It is not surprising, then, that there is often a disparity between what we think is going on in our bodies and what is objectively occurring. In short, phenomena such as physical symptoms are the stuff of psychology. My own research into physical symptoms started by accident several years ago. In a hastily devised experiment dealing with the effects of noise on behavior, I had to write a post-experimental questionnaire that would be long enough to allow the experimenter time to calibrate some equipment for a later portion of the study. I included some physical symptoms on the questionnaire as fillers. The experiment was a total failure, with the exception of the symptom reports. People's perceptions of symptoms were easily influenced by our manipulations, even though their actual physiological state had not changed. And so began the present inquiry. Despite the pervasiveness, importance, and sheer amount of time and money devoted to discussing and curing common physical symptoms and sensations, very little empirical work has been devoted to examining the psychological and perceptual factors related to sensory experience. Occa sional papers have tested a specific theory, such as cognitive dissonance, wherein physical symptoms served as an interesting dependent measure.

The Inner Cause

The Inner Cause
Author: Martin Brofman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2018-05-08
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1844097595

Explores the body as a map of consciousness, where physical symptoms reflect stresses on our minds, emotions, and Higher Self • Offers a comprehensive guide to 800 physical symptoms with the description of their inner cause and the message they are sending to our consciousness • Explains how learning a symptom’s message empowers the individual affected to take charge and effect change on the inner level • Addresses the individual as well as the helping professions, healers and therapists, to help them understand more fully the dynamics of the body-mind interface The body is intimately connected to the mind and the Spirit. Each physical symptom reflects a deeper part of our Spirit and consciousness, the part the Western traditions know as the “unconscious” or “subconscious.” When we make a decision that leaves us with stress, it affects our consciousness, and therefore our energy field or aura. When the tension increases in intensity, it reaches the physical level where it creates a symptom. This means that if we make a different decision, or change our mind about something, we can let go of this stress, and the symptom. The symptom itself is not the problem, just a message that, once understood, has fulfilled its purpose and can be released. Integrating Martin Brofman’s more than 30 years of research and healing practice, The Inner Cause comprises an A to Z compendium of 800 symptoms and a psychology of their inner causes, the messages they are trying to send to our consciousness. Woven into the descriptions of symptoms, the author also discusses personality profiles associated with certain symptoms, derived from his understanding of the chakras, the body-mind interface, and the connections he discovered when developing his Body Mirror System of Healing. He explains that when you explore the inner cause to a symptom, you recognize that you have created this symptom through the stressed way you chose to respond to the conditions in your life. By learning a symptom’s message, you become empowered to take charge and effect change on the inner level. For each symptom discussed, the author explores the message of the symptom, which chakras are involved, how you may be affected, and which issues you might need to look at to resolve the tension or stress--although a specific solution will always depend on the individual’s personal situation. With its correlation of symptoms and psychological states of being, The Inner Cause provides invaluable insight into how we can effectively support our own healing process physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Masquerading Symptoms

Masquerading Symptoms
Author: Barbara Schildkrout
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 614
Release: 2014-05-12
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0470890657

The definitive resource to the signs, symptoms, and patterns of medical diseases that CAN present as psychological problems This invaluable reference enables clinicians, as well as patients and their families, to become more familiar with these medical conditions and how they may masquerade as mental disorders.Part One of this book is organized so that it corresponds to the sections of the Standard Mental Status Exam. It is composed of clinical presentation descriptions that direct the reader to the medical diseases described inPart Two that may be contributing to the patient's discomfort. Without medical jargon, Barbara Schildkrout lucidly explains how patients with each medical condition may end up seeking help from a mental health professional. The conditions explored in this book include: Alzheimer's disease Brain tumors Carbon monoxide poisoning Diseases of the thyroid Endocrine disorders Hepatic encephalopathy HIV/AIDS Hyperventilation syndrome Hypoglycemia Limbic encephalitis Lyme disease Syphilis Thiamine deficiency Traumatic brain injury The book also describes a proven process for working with patients during and after the referral process, and integrating medical findings into ongoing therapeutic work. All mental health professionals need access to this information, and Masquerading Symptoms puts it all in a single, easily navigated reference. BARBARA SCHILDKROUT, MD,is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She has taught for many years at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She has a Subspecialty Board Certification through the United Council for Neurological Subspecialties in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry and has maintained a private clinical practice in the Boston area for over 25 years.

Illness Behavior

Illness Behavior
Author: Sean McHugh
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1468452576

In August, 1985, the 2nd International Conference on Illness Behaviour was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The first International Conference took place one year previous in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. This book is based on the proceedings of the second conference. The purpose behind this conference was to facilitate the development of a single integrated model to account for illness experience and presentation. A major focus of the conference was to outline methodological issues related to current behaviour research. A multidiscipl~nary approach was emphasized because of the bias that collaborative efforts are likely to be the most successful in achieving greater understanding of illness behaviour. Significant advances in our knowledge are occurring in all areas of the biological and social sciences, albeit more slowly in the latter areas. Marked specialization in each of these areas has lead to greater difficulty in integrating new knowledge with that of other areas and the development of a meaningful cohesive model to which all can relate. Thus there is a major need for forums such as that provided by this conference.

Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine

Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
Author: Susan Ayers
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781849724449

Health psychology is a rapidly expanding discipline at the interface of psychology and clinical medicine. This text offers a comprehensive, accessible, one-stop resource for clinical psychologists, mental health professionals and specialists in health-related matters.

Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice

Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2016-09-14
Genre: Law
ISBN: 030944070X

Bullying has long been tolerated as a rite of passage among children and adolescents. There is an implication that individuals who are bullied must have "asked for" this type of treatment, or deserved it. Sometimes, even the child who is bullied begins to internalize this idea. For many years, there has been a general acceptance and collective shrug when it comes to a child or adolescent with greater social capital or power pushing around a child perceived as subordinate. But bullying is not developmentally appropriate; it should not be considered a normal part of the typical social grouping that occurs throughout a child's life. Although bullying behavior endures through generations, the milieu is changing. Historically, bulling has occurred at school, the physical setting in which most of childhood is centered and the primary source for peer group formation. In recent years, however, the physical setting is not the only place bullying is occurring. Technology allows for an entirely new type of digital electronic aggression, cyberbullying, which takes place through chat rooms, instant messaging, social media, and other forms of digital electronic communication. Composition of peer groups, shifting demographics, changing societal norms, and modern technology are contextual factors that must be considered to understand and effectively react to bullying in the United States. Youth are embedded in multiple contexts and each of these contexts interacts with individual characteristics of youth in ways that either exacerbate or attenuate the association between these individual characteristics and bullying perpetration or victimization. Recognizing that bullying behavior is a major public health problem that demands the concerted and coordinated time and attention of parents, educators and school administrators, health care providers, policy makers, families, and others concerned with the care of children, this report evaluates the state of the science on biological and psychosocial consequences of peer victimization and the risk and protective factors that either increase or decrease peer victimization behavior and consequences.

Encyclopedia of Health Psychology

Encyclopedia of Health Psychology
Author: Alan J. Christensen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2014-01-16
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0387225579

- Not only is Health Psychology, a field that focuses on the promotion and maintenance of both physical and mental health, a rapidly growing area of interest, but it is also a field that draws on and contributes to the other varied fields of psychology, medicine, nursing, sociology, anthropology, among others. - Provides a relatively comprehensive and accesible overview of the central concepts, issues, conditions and terms that comprise the broad discipline of health psychology - Covers more than 200 contributions by more than 150 of the leading researchers, educators, and practitioners in the field