One reason may be that their denial make room for hope, or at least for a positive outlook, even under the grimmest of conditions. Never deny the diagnosis, but do deny the negative opinion that may go with it, advises Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness and The Healing Heart. Why? Because grim warnings about diseases come from statistics on the average case. Cousins believes that most patients, given hope and determination, have a good chance to transcend the averages.
Adds Dr. Hackett: Deniers see the machines theyre hooked up to as helping them to get well, not as a sign of a badly functioning heart. Those who feel most positive about their ability to get well tend to do better than those who fear and worry more.
Of course, none of these researchers would conclude that denial is the best approach to all medical matters. A diabetic must monitor blood sugar; a kidney patient must keep track of dialysis ; a woman who finds a lump in her breast must not delay in having it diagnosed.
The question to ask yourself, Dr. Lazarus explains, is whether the information you gather will help you solve a problem, or whether there is little you can do to change things. In the first case, pay attention and act. In the second case, dont become preoccupied with the risks; anxiety can worsen your health.
Dr. Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, points out that the overly vigilant patients central nervous system becomes aroused into the fight-or-flight response. But since all the patient can do is lie there, his body suffers the classic damages of stress.
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