Daily Mail article today 29.3.10

[countrygirl]

In the life and style section called confessions of a hypochondriac - its brilliant

[smpomeroy]

Is there a link to an online version do you know? I refuse to buy the daily mail on personal principle :D

[countrygirl]

Go to daily mail website and in the search box type Confessions of a Hyposchondriac and it will come up to read. the web address was so long as to be impossible to reprint here !

[Wolfie]

Wow, well, personally in my opinion the Daily Mail is almost usually filled with crap. However, this article is possibly the most understanding and intelligent piece of writing I've ever read in this newspaper - fantastic article!!!

Thanks for letting us know countrygirl :)

Chrissy xx

[countrygirl]

Chrissy - this article made me feel so much better. I know we all understand each other on here but I certainly feel that I am one of the few with this condition but for someone to go public was great. As you say not often Daily Mail has something in it that is not scaremongering.
I think that is written by someone with the condition as she says so many things that we think.

[smpomeroy]

its very amusing - thanks for the tip x

[marley]

It is good that HA is being explored in the media, but something about that article really hit me the wrong way.

There was a certain smugness to the author in her ability to easily procure tests, and she saw no problem in her HA behaviour. I know humour is often a wonderful way to heal, but the way she did it made me feel like she trivialised it.

So many of us on here have suffered tremendously on a daily, hourly, per-second basis. It is real and measurable depression that we've dealt with. Wasted time. Massive amounts of money. Useless tests. Waiting in the emergency department of the hospital truly convinced that you're dying.

She needed to explore a couple of the deeper mechanisms of HA; why does it impact some people so profoundly? What techniques are available to help overcome it? No part of that article suggested that people can heal from HA, or seek psychological counsel. I imagine many readers of that article would have had benefit from those types of details - especially seeing as the Daily Mail is one of the biggest perpetrators of scaremongering of the modern media.

Ugh, it's late. Maybe I'm just cranky. :winks:

[Typer]

What I did not like is that the writer has access to a private GP and health care. Makes a lot of difference to people with HA if they can be reassured very quickly, before the fear really takes hold

Edit: marley, just must have posted together. I agree entirely with you. Smug and almost unaware of how difficult HA is...just pop off to the GP for £85 and get a comfort fix...hmmm wish I could do that

Edit 2: Just had to leave a comment...not sure who will read it, but had to let off some steam. I am under a pseudo nom as Jane

[smpomeroy]

no marley I think you have a point - I found the article entertaining but not satisfying in that she seemed to be saying that HA was a good thing as it keeps you healthier - well ok that may be so but Im sure all the stress and worry doesnt do much for ones health and not to mention the fear and finiding it hard to truly enjoy yourself or relax because of the constant worry and panic attacks. Its ok to laugh at ourselves infact thats important but it shouldnt be trivialised. Thats what makes me feel bad sometimes is that I think Im ridiculous and should be able to better deal with things.

Meh - anyway whinge over...

[Typer]

What I did not like is that the writer has access to a private GP and health care. Makes a lot of difference to people with HA if they can be reassured very quickly, before the fear really takes hold

Edit: marley, just must have posted together. I agree entirely with you. Smug and almost unaware of how difficult HA is...just pop off to the GP for £85 and get a comfort fix...hmmm wish I could do that

Edit 2: Just had to leave a comment...not sure who will read it, but had to let off some steam. I am under a pseudo nom as Jane


Ooops meant to quote smpomeroy not myself LOL


o marley I think you have a point - I found the article entertaining but not satisfying in that she seemed to be saying that HA was a good thing as it keeps you healthier - well ok that may be so but Im sure all the stress and worry doesnt do much for ones health and not to mention the fear and finiding it hard to truly enjoy yourself or relax because of the constant worry and panic attacks. Its ok to laugh at ourselves infact thats important but it shouldnt be trivialised. Thats what makes me feel bad sometimes is that I think Im ridiculous and should be able to better deal with things.

Meh - anyway whinge over...



I agree with you too, especially about the stress of it all.

For a quick link to the article

Click here (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1261430/Confessions-hypochondriac-A-neurotic-proud-woman-feel-better-it.html)

[countrygirl]

I started the post and I agree with everyone that it does trivialise HA but then this is the Daily Mail:wacko: and them publishing anything like this is amazing!

[Typer]

Thanks for starting it Countrygirl it really does highlight things. Articles like this always spark a good debate :D

[Ella_Jayne]

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1261430/Confessions-hypochondriac-A-neurotic-proud-woman-feel-better-it.html

[marley]

OK, I've had a sleep and some time to think, and (most importantly) a nice cup of tea...

FIRSTLY: I really appreciate that you posted this, countrygirl! This type of article is great food for thought, and helps us come to terms with our own feelings about having HA.

My thoughts about the article today are much the same as last night, except maybe I'm even more concerned today:

I think she (the author of the article) perpetuates the image of the hypochondriac as a malingerer; a person who goes from condition to condition, or doctor to doctor either as an attention seeker, or for some other inorganic cause.

For many of us, that is not the reality of HA. Lots of people on here remain fixated on the same symptom, the same condition. For me, it's my lymph nodes. For other people, it's palpitations. Not everyone jumps from condition to condition or doctor to doctor, and many of us are seeking both medical and psychological help at the same time. For me, a headache is a headache - I'm not convinced I have a tumour. But if I develop a symptom which supplements my fear or lymphoma, that's what I worry about. It's a different type of irrationality - almost like tunnel vision.

The other big annoyance I have with the article is that the author ignores the organic CAUSES for having HA in the first place. She mentions her ectopic pregnancy, yet she doesn't explore the causative links between that particular trauma and her subsequent panics. The practical part of me wants to suggest that what she has experienced is not strictly HA, but perhaps a bit of PTSD as well, or at least HA brought on by PTSD.

I think perhaps the largest obstacle to getting HA (and many other somatic spectrum disorders) recognised as a significantly impeding and traumatic disorder is the lack of information available about treatment. She neglects the information she should provide about treatment and proclaims that HA is a good thing... something to be soldiered on through with stoicism. Utter rubbish. Nobody should have to live with the type of crippling HA many of us (including myself) have faced. And to propagate further that it may improve your health because of the diligent attention paid to symptoms... total stupidity. How about she talk about the impact of the stress hormones released into our body, or the impact of this behaviour on our family and community?

[Typer]

I agree muchly with every word you say Marley, not to mention she has the money to be seen a.s.a.p and be comforted and reassured by her private and no doubt concerned GP. How could someone who uses BUPA for tests, and has a private GP @ £85 a shot have any idea what its like for many people.

She gets her £85 fix and is okay till the next time she feels fretful.

I also agree re most of us are not hypochondriacs in the old sense of the word. HA is entirely different and usually (maybe not always) born from an event or trauma or real illness. Clare Weeks points this out in her books. I think the author should have read up on the subject and I disliked her making a joke out of it.

It did provoke me to write something on there.

rant over....

[StressedRunner]

Living in London and having access to private GP services takes a lot of the sting out of having HA I would imagine. I know for me part of the problem is finding something, nearly always at the weekend and having to wait until at least Tuesday (lucky me for at least having understanding employers) to see a Dr.

I would be quite upset at being labelled a hypochondriac - the author of this article should read the article on this website about HA - the symptoms we all suffer are only too real, nothing imagined about it!

I'm glad she finds it funny, I sure wish I could see the joke as I reckon it might help!