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January 15, 2006

Feeling Better by Emily C Deans and Arthur J Barsky - book review

December 30, 2007 04:08 PM EST

views: 194 | comments: 89

For those who suffer chronic pain, chronic illnesses, fatigue, migraines, acid indigestion or other medical issues, this book may help you.

In Feeling Better: A 6-week Mind-Body Program to Ease Your Chronic Symptoms, the authors offer a comprehensive program to help chronic pain sufferers.

Feeling Better: A 6-week Mind-Body Program to Ease Your Chronic Symptoms by Arthur J. Barsky, MD and Emily C. Deans, MD, published by Collins.

In the words of the authors:

"Millions of people -- fully one-third of the people who visit the doctor every year -- have legitmate aches, pains, and troubles that do not fit under the current medical definition of 'serious' or life-threatening illness. These are people who suffer but have not been treated satisfactorily by modern medicine. No one alive goes without medical symptoms altogether, but with this program, you can change how you react to symptoms, feel about them, and think about them. In so doing, you will leann how to control your symptoms rather than letting your symptoms control you."

The authors recommend that readers give the book a once-over first, and second, a more thorough reading.

By looking over the book, I see the following sections and chapters:

* * *

PART ONE: A New Way to Think About Symptoms
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONS
CHAPTER TWO: YOUR HEALTH BELONGS TO YOU

* * *

Arthur J. Barsky, MD

PART TWO: Feeling Better: The Six-Week Program to Stop Being Your Symptoms and Start Being Yourself

CHAPTER THREE: WEEK 1 - SHIFT FOCUS FOM YOUR SYMPTOMS TO YOURSELF

CHAPTER FOUR: WEEK 2 - LEARN HOW TO RETHINK YOUR SYMPTOMS

CHAPTER FIVE: WEEK 3 - CHANGE THE SITUATION, LESSEN YOUR SYMPTOM

CHAPTER SIX: WEEK 4 - UNDO THE DAMANGE OF UNPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIORS

CHAPTER SEVEN: WEEK 5 - BRIGHTEN THE MOOD, HELP THE SYMPTOM

CHAPTER EIGHT: WEEK 6 - LESSONS IN COPING WELL

* * *

PART THREE: General Principles for Living and Coping Well
CHAPTER NINE: LIVING WELL THROUGH NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

CHAPTER TEN: FOUR FINAL PRINCIPLES.

Emily C Deans, MD

Looks good to me, and as someone who once lived with chronic pain for 10 years, I would have appreciated this book, a few years ago.

As someone who finally recovered from chronic pain, I still appreciate the tips and recognize the wisdom of the words herein.

When a person is in the grips of chronic pain, it can be difficult to 'stop being your symptom' - all we ever think and feel are our symptoms, our pain. It seems as if we cannot stop thinking about it.

But here's a tip from the book: Distract yourself from the pain. Do not focus on it. If you suffer from dizziness, take note of the times when you stand up and do NOT feel dizzy.

Lead as productive a life as possible and you will feel better.

The authors note that the profit motive, the mass media, increased medicalization of our symptoms and the basic condition of life all contributes to the seeming contradiction of 'doing better but feeling worse' - we live longer but often suffer chronic illnesses we did not have decades ago.

Decades ago, people usually did not live long enough to develop some of the medical conditions that now disable us. So we are 'doing better' in that we live longer, but it is the quality of our lives that is at issue. We want to live longer and live with quality of life.

I have noticed way too much advertising for drugs and medical conditions that really may not need treatment, that are really a part of life. I am talking about 'restless legs' and 'overactive bladder.' Drugs can be helpful but they are powerful and can have side effects, which can add up over time and which may decrease our ability to function in other ways.

But for those who suffer such conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (my late mother-in-law had RA and Diabetes), the issue is trying to live WITH the condition and its symptoms but while LIVING a LIFE DESPITE the condition.

(Believe me, I know it is not easy. I had a surgically-untreated skull fracture which took 10 years of pain throughout most of my systems before it finally resolved itself. I am grateful that I did not have a specific disease process, but only an injury, which finally did heal.)

The authors give the example of two patients with RA - one who continued to live her life as productively as possible despite the difficulty or inability to perform many routine tasks such as opening jars - and another patient, who pretty much had given up on her symptoms and let them control her.

Relaxation exercises and deep breathing can help lessen pain, the authors note.

People who are isolated or who live with negative psychological or social factors are likely to feel worse than those who live with more positive influences in their lives.

Getting out as much as possible and being with people helps. Online communities such as Gather is part of this.

It may surprise you to know that about 68 percent of people who live with disabling conditions report being satisfied or fairly satisfied with their lives.

I consider this to be a good number!

An excellent book for anyone who does not feel well or who has not felt well, at some point in their life.

* * *

Feeling Better: A 6-week Mind-Body Program to Ease Your Chronic Symptoms by Arthur J. Barsky, MD and Emily C. Deans, MD, published by Collins.