From Paralysis to Fatigue: A History of Psychosomatic Illness in the Modern Era

Edward Shorter provides a much need perspective on the current crop of psychosomatic symptoms that are being treated today as if they are based on structural anomalies in the knee, shoulder, lower back etc. etc. Shorter shows how these same kind of symptoms occurred in the late 18th century and the 19th too because of the proliferation of fanciful medical theories, like spinal irritation and reflex neurosis, that allowed patients to come up with symptoms that matched contemporary medical theories that were, in many cases, pure quackery and fanciful speculation with high sounding academic names. The question the reader begins to ask after reading Shorter is whether such modern diagnoses as spinal degeneration to account for back pain are really much more clinically scientific than the theories about the origins of back pain proposed by the medical establishment in the 1830s.A very insightful work of medical theory that forces the reader to ask the disturbing question: Just how far has clinical medicine advanced since the early Victorians? Disturbing when you begin to notice how so many of these aches and pains are confined to a specific middle-class milieu where patients have sufficient funds and leisure time to be treated for symptoms of diseases without germs.

I haven't actually read this book. I was about to buy it, but I'm confused by the reviews. If this guy is really lacking in compassion, I can't imagine it would be good for me.I learned about this book from a John Sarno disciple, Howard Schubiner, whose book is called Unlearn Your Pain. He cites an enormous amount of research that indicates that physiological correlates (like the lesions mentioned by some reviewers) have not be proven to cause pain and/or fatigue (I have IC, which researchers used to believe was caused by Hunner's Ulcers--they were wrong). Schubiner indicates that people suffering from these syndromes who come to believe they have Mind Body Syndrome, and uncover the rage behind their symptoms, can improve "miraculously." But that doesn't mean they were malingering! The pain and symptoms are very real.I am very interested in this history, so I wish i could feel confident that reading this book wouldn't just increase my stress. I was diagnosed with a conversion reaction when I was 10, but in such a way that it became a medical hex. The work on Mind Body Syndrome is undoing that hex--I no longer believe I'm in pain because I'm "hysterical." I now understand how the brain creates symptoms, and how we might be able--via increasing consciousness--to short circuit that process. The MBS method does not deny that the process was set off by trauma and it involves learning self-compassion.I guess I'll pass on this book for now.

A rational, unemotional examination of the subject.

Too bad this isn't required reading for all doctors!! Hardly anybody believes this stuff - but it goes on all around us resulting in millions of people hooked on pain pills or getting needless operations.

The author has successfully applied an historian's long range perspective to currents fads and trends in health care. His view will save us from the laughter of our grandchildren and perhaps keep us and them from making the same mistakes over and over. This is history that is useful today. History as a prescription for todays ills.

This is a very well researched book which is also very easy and pleasant to read. The author has scoured libraries for contemporary accounts of psychosomatic illness, mostly from physicians but sometimes from patients as well.Shorter describes the history of psychosomatic illness from the first written accounts up to the present day. In doing so he shows how theories have changed over the centuries, and also how the symptoms themselves have changed as patients unconsciously "choose" which symptoms will be believed (although I have my doubts about whether or not this is actually the case).The book contains many accounts of psychosomatic illness, some of which are quite entertaining (although probably not for the patients themselves).My only criticism of the book is the lack of science. Shorter doesn't try to give any theories about the nature of psychosomatic illness and seems to think that all psychosomatic symptoms are simply generated by the unconscious mind, which can change them at will. This seems to go against known physiology, which shows that certain psychosomatic reactions (such as the defecation response to fear) are hard-wired into the nervous system and happen in animals as well as humans. Perhaps there are different types of psychosomatic illness with different causes and different physiology, but Shorter doesn't address this. While this isn't a major shortcoming for a book that only professes to discuss the history of psychosomatic illness, Shorter does give the impression of having a mildly negative opinion of the "somatizers" he describes.Overall, however, it is a very good read and I couldn't put it down. For anyone at all interested in psychosomatic illness this book is a must-have.

Along with Sarno's "The Divided Mind", this is one of the most important books I have read in my life. It persuaded me that my 9 years of struggle with chronic fatigue (some prefer Myalgic Encephamolyelitis) could come to an end. It enabled me to glimpse how one's personality type interacts with culture and with contemporary beliefs and attitudes to shape the expression of one's suffering. I must credit one more person here: the Dutch researcher Hans Knoop, whose research articles and methods also contributed to the "inner shift".The book is easy to read and perhaps my background made it easy to understand too. As Sarno says, psychosomatic illness is real and it affects all of us. I wish I had known this years ago but perhaps like so many others, I might not have found the insights in this book palatable back then. A word of advice if you suffer from chronic fatigue: let go of your anger when you read this book. I find that anger is one of the most common obstacles to recovery.

Very short review: Fantastic book on psychosomatic symptoms and illneses. In Germany (and only in Germany), psychosomatic medicine is a subspeciality of medicine, like psychiatry or orthopedics. I want to undergo residency in psychosomatic medicine, so I bought this book to learn about the history of psychosmatic deseases.Esdward Shorter has written some wonderful books, for exampe "The History of Psychiatry" and he has never disappointed me. This book, once again, proves that Edward Shorter is a fantastic author and researcher. If you are interested in this topic, this book is for you!