Let's talk about anxiety

[LinksEtc]

@HeartSisters   Again ... she seems like a kindred soul ... I guess it would be wrong of me to wish food allergy on her so she might come & join us here.   

"Unmet Needs across the Lifespan: the Case against Routine Screening"
http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/jamesccoyne/why-screeing-cancer-patients-for-distress-will-increase-disparities-in-psychosocial-services

Slide 18

the concept of stigma is being invoked to

Undermine patient empowerment

Resolve differences of opinion between patients and professionals as to need for mental health services in favor of the professionals

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"Why Psychosocial Care is Difficult to Integrate into Routine Cancer Care: Stigma is the Elephant in the Room"

http://www.jnccn.org/content/8/4/362.extract

The panel members felt that the major barrier, for both physicians and patients, was the negative meaning and stigma attached to words implying the psychological domain, such as psychiatric, psychological, and psychosocial. The panel considered descriptive words that could encompass the range of fears, worries, and concerns of patients with cancer, and proposed the word distress because it could vary in severity from a normal response to a more significant level, consistent with a psychiatric disorder requiring intervention.

[LinksEtc]

Tweeted by @HeartSisters

Thanks for not wishing food allergy on me so I might come & join you there on your forum, Karen! ;-)

[CMdeux]

    That's funny!

[LinksEtc]

Tweeted by @Ckconners

Dr. Allen Frances  (wrote a book called "Saving Normal")

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-AMvrcBvYWk

If you have a medical illness and you're worried about it, that becomes a mental disorder.

I think that from the point of view of clinicians, it's important to be cautious in your diagnoses, don't jump to conclusions, don't make fancy diagnoses after a brief initial contact with patients.

[LinksEtc]

"Can't You Take a (Food Allergy) Joke?"
http://foodallergybitch.blogspot.com/2013/09/cant-you-take-food-allergy-joke.html

fear that one teacher/waitress/boss who buys into food allergies being fake and therefore is just a little (or a lot) less careful than he or she needs to be to keep my son safe.

When half the population doesn't believe in food allergies (to the point that people are taking the time to search for phrases like "I HATE FOOD ALLERGY KIDS"), how well-placed is that trust?

I do think that when we don't trust, others often perceive us as anxious. 


Also ... when we plan more than others (like for schools) or are strict with avoidance (ex - cross-contact) ... when we try to explain non-top8 labeling rules ... when we advocate in a way that others do not ... when we ask detailed questions ... then there is a risk of being perceived as anxious, which ironically, can diminish our credibility and make it harder for us to achieve our goal such as safety.  It is not usually seen as being thorough and responsible ... it is seen as over-the-top.



ETA related thread link
Food Allergen Labeling: Using "common sense" when assessing safety

[CMdeux]

Exactly-- and (as the FAB and I have discussed)-- your only other option, if you know from hard-won experience that you MUST live with a certain level of managed avoidance, is that you become entirely self-sufficient and never place yourself in a position that REQUIRES that you place such trust in others.

This, too, has a price.  It means that your lifestyle is very fundamentally different from "normative" in spite of how easy-going, laid-back, or whatever you might appear to others.  You will seem aloof (because you avoid situations where you are required to trust others so as to not provoke open conflict over this), you will not share in some parts of culturally relevant/normative activities and rituals, and underneath the veneer, your lifestyle is NOT normal.

[martin0101001]

Before i got my allergies, it all started with a anxiety and panic disorder.
Very hard to manage especially because its a disorder and i'm not scared of real things, just irrational crazy stuff like my heart blowing up or just quit on me, epilepsy poison and more crazy stuff.
by the time i accepted that these things werent real, my food allergies started kicking in.
So everybody just told me that is was all in my head, my throat was not swelling, i was not really dizzy, my blood pressure does not drop, your not nauseous etc etc...
it has been a killing time but by the time i forced my doctor into testing me for allergies i started calming down again.
but the anxiety has scarred me.
i'm absolutely terrified of trying new things. it has even gone so far that i prefer not to eat at all, just one meal a day because i have to..

[LinksEtc]

Reminds me of the quote

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you

let's build off of that ...

Just because you're anxious doesn't mean your food allergy isn't real or dangerous.

----------------------------


Martin,

I hope that you are getting allergy help from an allergist & help with the anxiety from a mental health professional.   

[LinksEtc]

"A cruel paradox when it comes to mental disorders"
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/08/cruel-paradox-comes-mental-disorders.html?utm_content=bufferb2bbc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

But there is a cruel paradox when it comes to mental disorders. While we chase the receding holy grail of future basic science breakthrough, we are shamefully neglecting the needs of patients who are suffering right now.

[LinksEtc]

"When the stigma of a disease makes its diagnosis even worse"
http://ethicalnag.org/2012/06/14/stigma-of-a-disease-makes-diagnosis-worse/

The question of which diagnoses are associated with social stigma is interesting to me

Mayo Clinic experts explain:

"Based on stereotypes, stigma is a negative judgment based on a personal trait— in this case, having a mental health condition.

[LinksEtc]

"Emergency Departments Implement New Triage Form to Screen Patients for Actual Disease"
http://www.gomerblog.com/2014/07/triage/

The decision tool is called AYAS (Are You Actually Sick)

Does the patient have >2 medical allergies?

http://www.gomerblog.com/disclaimer/

Gomerblog.com is strictly a satirical and fake news blog site.

but satire can be a powerful way to illustrate attitudes.

[LinksEtc]

"How do you know when a hypochondriac is really sick?"
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/09/know-hypochondriac-really-sick.html

So how do you know when a hypochondriac is really sick?

the only way you're going to know that is to keep open the lines of communication with them

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"Don't let our desire to be respected get in the way of our oaths"
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/12/dont-let-desire-respected-get-way-oaths.html

Our hard-wired tendency to prejudge is unavoidable, so we need to recognize it in order for it not to control us.

We cannot be too proud or stubborn to admit when our first thought is wrong. We have to keep listening.

[LinksEtc]

"Stress test vs flipping a coin: which is more accurate?"
http://myheartsisters.org/2014/03/01/stress-test-vs-flipping-a-coin/

One of the most serious concerns about tests that are commonly used despite  important diagnostic accuracy issues is that an initial "normal" test may lead to misdiagnosis. No further tests will be ordered. Doctors like Duke University's Dr. Pamela Douglas call this phenomenon "verification bias".

[LinksEtc]

Tweeted by @99u

"The Upside of Pessimism"
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/dont-think-positively/379993/

people imagine worst-case scenarios in order to manage their anxiety. But what defensive pessimists do next is key: They come up with strategies to avoid having all of those bad things happen, thus ending up better-prepared and less anxious in the long-run.

[CMdeux]

Yup!      That would be people like my DH and myself. 

Most of my friends and family have learned that I can come up with a temporary solution to nearly anything-- and I don't even carry a large purse with me.  I'm just that  person.  Like MacGyver.