The Divided Mind
The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders
Chapter OneWhat is Psychosomatic Medicine?
I remember the first time John R came into my clinic in 1996. He was a successful businessman in his early forties, well dressed and fit, radiating confidence. He seemed altogether at ease and self-assured -- until he bent to sit down. Abruptly, his movements slowed and he became so cautious, so fragile, so tentative that he was suddenly a caricature of the driving, confident man who strode through my door only moments before. His body language made it clear that he was either experiencing excruciating pain or feared the pain would strike him if he made the slightest wrong move.
As a medical doctor, I could empathize with his suffering. My specialty is mindbody disorders, and I see cases like this every working day. I hoped I could help him, which meant helping him to help himself, because with mindbody disorders, a doctor cannot "cure" a patient. It is the suffering patient who must come to understand his malady . . . and by understanding it, banish it.
As we went over John R's history, ... read full excerpt from: Divided Mind, The ebook
