sodium-ethylxanthate and Phobic-Disorders

A brief historical introduction traces the evolution of the concept of hypochondriasis. It is suggested that the term should now be used only as a descriptive adjective when there is a morbid preoccupation with health or body. Social and cultural factors are outlined, as well as problems of measurement. The psychopathology, as formulated by Freud and others, is also described. Clinical aspects are discussed under the headings of general symptoms, pain, smell, bodily appearance, sexual, gastro-intestinal, cardio-respiratory, eyes, and ears, nose and throat. Psychiatric syndromes mentioned are: hypochondria as a possible primary state, personality disorders, phobic-anxiety state, neurashthenia, obsessional neurosis, hysteria, depression, paranoid psychosis and organic. In general, hypochondriacal symptoms seem to make the prognosis rather worse. Treatment is to be aimed at the primary condition, which is most commonly depression, anxiety state or conversion reaction.

Topics: Anxiety; Body Image; Delusions; Depression; Fatigue; Humans; Hypochondriasis; Hysteria; MMPI; Neurasthenia; Neurocognitive Disorders; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Pain; Paranoid Disorders; Personality Disorders; Phobic Disorders; Prognosis; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Schizophrenia; Sex

Forty agoraphobics had individual exposure treatment over a period of 28 weeks and were followed up for two years. Outcome in the 27 married patients was as favourable as that in the 13 single patients. However, among the married patients greater improvement occurred in those with better initial marital and sexual adjustment, although even those with poor initial marital adjustment improved significantly during treatment and maintained that improvement during follow-up. Good initial work adjustment and social adjustment were also predictive of particularly good outcome. Reduction of phobias was accompanied by stable or improved marital, sexual, social and work adjustment.

Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Agoraphobia; Behavior Therapy; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Marriage; Phobic Disorders; Sex; Social Adjustment

A female patient with agoraphobia is presented to demonstrate the need for maximal flexibility in designing a treatment program for the agoraphobic patient. This patient required a multimodal approach utilizing pharmacotherapy, marital psychotherapy, and individual psychotherapy, alone and in combination. The paper looks specifically at nodal decision points in treatment at which reassessment was necessary and changes in psychotherapeutic intervention were made. The importance and implications of involving the patient's significant other in treatment are explored with respect to the outcomes such involvement may have on the treatment. A review of the literature on treatments for agoraphobia highlights the conclusion reached, that the agoraphobic patient presents with a biopsychosocial problem which frequently requires the clinician to combine several treatment modalities.

Topics: Adult; Agoraphobia; Combined Modality Therapy; Female; Humans; Imipramine; Marital Therapy; Panic; Phobic Disorders; Psychotherapy; Sex

During the past 20 years, there has been described a group of profoundly anxious and phobic patients, who are not amenable to psychological forms of treatment or to the major and the minor tranquilizers, but who respond dramatically to tricyclic and MAO inhibitor medication. The separation of this drug-responsive syndrome from other anxiety disorders constitutes a major advance in psychiatry. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for the treatment of psychosexual disorders. To illustrate the hypotheses and discussion, the case histories of three patients with sexual phobias are described. All had been treatment failures with sex therapy and psychotherapy but responded to a combination of tricyclic medication and sex therapy which was modified to accommodate the special needs of sexually phobic patients.

Topics: Adult; Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; Anxiety; Female; Humans; Imipramine; Male; Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; Panic; Phobic Disorders; Psychological Theory; Psychotherapy; Sex; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological

Study of DPP extended over 2 groups selected as following: It was prospective in every patient seen between July 1976 and May 1977 (systematic study: SS: 35 girls and 2 boys). It was retrospective in another group before selected for importance of DPP (no systematic study: NSS: 34 girls and 6 boys). DPP were distributed into Dalpha (fear of any weight recovery), Dbeta (obsessing repercussion of a real defect, amplified in its perception) and Dgamma (delirious and obsessing conviction of a physical anomaly). We researched correlations with the type of AN (fixity or recession to childhood), premorbid weight-height ratio, overweight of the same-sex parent, important problems towards sexuality (ASC = Absolute sexual conflict = An entirely caused by a sexual difficulty, or PSC = Partial Sexual Conflict = difficulty towards sexuality when insuffisant to explain AN, or no sexual conflict), attitude towards pregnancy in cases of big-belly DPP. Every DPP were DPP of localized or generalized obesity. Dalpha is constant and pathognomonic. In females of SS, 37% presented Dbeta and 5% Dgamma before AN, 25% Dbeta and 11% Dgamma during AN. Among the 8 boys of the 2 studies, 3 presented Dgamma before AN, and everyone expressed their obsessing fear of "ugly grease". In 20% girls and 50% boys, explained aim of loss of weight was to "wipe out" the anomally DPP emphasized. We did not find any correlation between generalized DPP and studied elements, particularly with sexual conflicts (22% of our cases). The more frequent localized DPP was "big-belly"-DPP, always associated with overweight of the same sex parent, but as for other localized DPP, without any correlation with sexual conflicts, problems towards the father, neither reject of pregnancy.

Topics: Adolescent; Anorexia Nervosa; Body Height; Body Image; Body Weight; Female; Humans; Male; Motivation; Obesity; Phobic Disorders; Pregnancy; Sex; Sex Factors

Topics: Adjustment Disorders; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Attitude to Health; Conflict, Psychological; Family Characteristics; Fear; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Paranoid Disorders; Personality; Phobic Disorders; Propaganda; Sex; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Stress, Psychological

Topics: Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Communication; Dreams; Family Therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Phobic Disorders; Projective Techniques; Self Concept; Sex; Social Conformity

Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Anxiety; Behavior Therapy; Depression; Female; Humans; Imagination; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Marriage; Phobic Disorders; Psychotherapy, Group; Sex

Topics: Adolescent; Anxiety; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Hysteria; Male; Neurotic Disorders; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Phobic Disorders; Prognosis; Schizophrenia; Sex

Topics: Alcoholism; Anxiety; Attitude; Depression; Erectile Dysfunction; Humans; Male; Paraphilic Disorders; Phobic Disorders; Psychosexual Development; Sex

Topics: Adolescent; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Personality; Phobic Disorders; Sex

Topics: Anxiety Disorders; Extraversion, Psychological; Fear; Humans; Neurotic Disorders; Neuroticism; Personality; Phobic Disorders; Psychological Tests; Sex; Sex Characteristics

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aging; Attitude; Child; Depersonalization; Depression; Dysautonomia, Familial; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neurasthenia; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Personality; Phobic Disorders; Sex