Arthur J. Barsky, M.D., is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of psychiatric research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He was asked about what hypochondriasis is (being a hypochondriac). They actually don’t call it that anymore. Now they call it illness anxiety disorder, or somatic symptom disorder. He said that a hypochondriac hyper-focuses on pain or some other symptom. By doing so they magnify the feeling; they’re actually hyper-stimulating the brain’s awareness of the symptom. The symptom becomes the person’s whole world.
When this happens, the only information in the body and brain that is available to that person is about the symptom. Since the focus in the brain is on the symptom, it’s harder for the brain to see anything else. It’s like when we get fixated on something, it’s harder for us to see anything else, such as a different perspective.
If we’re using our problem-solving skills to address the pain, then we’ll tend to disregard any other information other than the pain. This is most true when the pain is at its worst.
Self-healing requires brain integration (different parts of the brain sharing information). This is why we take a holistic approach in our clinic. Yes it’s important to acknowledge the pain, and what’s not working. And it’s also important to acknowledge other information. Information such as ‘where in my body do I feel peace?’, and ‘what IS working right now?’.
One of the techniques that we use in the clinic was developed by Donald Epstein and is called the Pain Integration Experience. It involves asking questions about where the pain is, what colour it is, what shape it is, does it have a sound, and others. All of these questions start to involve various parts of the brain, helping the brain to integrate all the information that is happening, including the sensation of pain.
This gives the person’s brain a chance to better assess and to find a solution. It’s like being the CEO of a company and being advised by the heads of all your departments instead of just one.
Our focus is a powerful tool. The more we learn to use it, we can improve our health, and our lives.