Product Description
In this compassionate book, Cantor offers hope to those who suffer from the debilitating disorder of hypochondria. As one who has struggled with bodily preoccupations and fear of disease, she shares what she has learned on the road to recovery.Amazon.com Review
Carla Cantor's long, dark road to hypochondria began when shecrashed a car she was driving, killing a friend of hers. She couldn'tforgive herself, and a few years later began imagining that she wassuffering from lupus. Many years and two hospitalizations later, shewrote this book not only about her experiences, but about hypochondriain general (now more politely referred to as a "somatoformdisorder"). No matter what one chooses to call them,psychosomatic disorders--imagined illnesses--present a huge burden tomedical systems, and only by taking them seriously can we hope toalleviate their costs. By putting a human face on this oftenlaughed-at syndrome, and by showing ways out of it, Cantor provides agreat service not only to "somatizers" and their loved ones,but to the entire healthcare system. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This book changed my life.
I was given a preview copy of this book in 1996.For as long as I can remember, I have suffered from horrible illness anxiety, and it had reached a point in which it was getting debilitating - calling the ambulance and showing up in emergency rooms on numerous occasions, undergoing a battery of tests, and regularly consulting books and nurse advice lines (this was before the Internet became a part of our daily lives).I had always been teased about being a hypochondriac, but I didn't really understand what hypochondria really was until reading this book.I instantly related to the ordeals of Carla Cantor and the many people whose stories she included in her book.It was like the sun finally came out, revealing that I wasn't alone.I happened to live in New York City at the time, and the book propelled me to enroll in the study being conducted by Dr. Fallon (who wrote the intro).If it weren't for this important, accessible, and highly engaging book, I can't imagine being a functional human being today.

misinformed
The Phantom Illness addresses the disease with an ingenuine distance, and it is apparent that the authors know the facts but not the real life difficulties that arise. The author delivers her book with an arrogance that my book club finds, well, unfit for writing. One to avoid!

Putting my fears into perspective
I could hear my own words from many of the stories that were told.I feel I'm not alone and think this will really help,along with therapy and medication.Truly this book is a great help!

Phantom Illness is Real
As someone who has suffered with hypochondriasis for years, I can tell you that it is indeed a very real psychological disease that can ruin not only the patient's life, but those who have to live with him or her.I alsobelieve it is linked to OCD (obsessive compulsive behavior) and otherdiseases such as fibromyalgia.These are all due to chemical imbalances asCantor points out and they can be helped by the use of SSRI drugs such asProzac, Paxil, and Zoloft, and by behavioral therapy.There are millionsof people who have hypochondriasis, but most either are overlooked by theirdoctors as crocks or they never go to doctors because they fear the doctorswill indeed find a real physical disease.

This book is well written and Iam surprised that it sales rank is so low and that no one else has writtena review.

Helped me a LOT!
I've allways had a lot of anxiety about my health, and lately it has gotten worse.This book helped me see that I am not alone.I recognized myself in a lot of the case studies.It has really inspired me to gettreatment for my problem.I was also glad to see that she addressed thestigma hypochondria has in our society. ... Read more

Product Description
The hilarious first-person account of life as a hypochondriac-from the critically acclaimed author of Devil in the Details.

Jennifer Traig does not suffer from lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn-s Disease, or muscular dystrophy. Nor does she have SUDS, the mysterious disorder that claims healthy young Asian men in their sleep. What she does have is hypochondria. In Well Enough Alone, Traig provides an uproariously funny inquiry into her ailment, as well as a well-researched history of the disorder. While chronicling her life as a hypochondriac and the minor conditions that helped to fuel her persistent self-diagnosis, she offers a literary tour of the disorder-s past and present. And by the end, her journey leaves her more knowledgeable, a little less neurotic, and-one might say-healthier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Pretty good, could have been better.
The first part was great.It seemed to drag on a little bit towards the middle though, I was a little disappointed overall.

Funny and informative
I really enjoyed Jennifer Traig's previous book and I was looking forward to reading this one.Traig has a knack for taking a "serious" subject and turning it on its ear - all the while feeding us full of useful information on that very same subject.

Well Enough Alone is one such book.The subject matter is somewhat taboo in our society and is never really discussed openly and yet, there are many, many people suffering in silence.Traig talks about it as if it she were talking about a pimple on her face - and does it with a senses of humour that I just adored.Yet, at the same time, the author gives us lots of pertinent information on the subject and more importantly, removes some of the stigma from it.

The one thing I had a bit of a problem with (and why I rated the book 3 instead of 4 stars) is the fact that, at times, I found the storylines jumped around alot - and it took me a few seconds to situate myself - especially if I put the book down and picked it up a day later.

Still, this is a great read on a difficult subject to talk about in "polite company".

not as good as her first
I read Jennifer Traig's first book "Devil in the Details" as I am fascinated with OCD. Her first book about being affected with "scrupulosity" was interesting, and she seemed a tragic and tormented person.
In this book, "Well Enough Alone", she just seems annoying. Her time lines are confusing; was she a grad student and teaching while she lived with the druggie roommates? Was she becoming an observant Jew while partying with her [......] pals? My confusion may stem from having read an earlier autobiographical book by her, and trying to overlay it with this one, and the two do not seem congruent in any way. Maybe this is an alternate history.
The historical info. on hypochondria and diseases is interesting, I would have enjoyed a book just about that. Traig just falls short too often on her attempts at sarcastic humour and I never felt sorry for her at all, just annoyed and impatient for her to grow-the-h*ll-up, get some clues and get a life.

Well Enough Alone is funny and surprisingly sweet
Jennifer Traig was pretty sure she had cancer. Also, lupus, tuberculosis and kidney failure. And herpes, rickets and Lyme disease. Plus, she might have had a heart attack somewhere along the way. As a hypochondriac, Traig is constantly convincing herself that she has been stricken with all kinds of illnesses; the symptoms are real, but the results are always negative. Or, almost always. She does have obsessive compulsive disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. She suffered from an actual eating disorder and, she will tell you, has frizzy hair.

While hypochondriacs exist only as the butt of bad jokes for most of us, Traig's latest memoir, WELL ENOUGH ALONE, explores the disorder in a personal and compelling way. Traig is often the butt of her own jokes, but this book makes it clear that hypochondria is no laughing matter.

Traig explains that hypochondria doesn't generally manifest until adulthood, yet she had signs of it as a child. In second grade she was worried about brain aneurysms, not to mention contaminated school lunches and injury from risky playground equipment. Her family seemed to be full of hypochondriacs, some of them genuinely sick, and her parents' medical professions also gave her fuel for the fire. She soon figured out that doctors worked hard and fussed over the sick, who got to rest and be pampered. Being sick, she reasoned, was the better deal. As she got older, the worry turned into real hypochondria, and she often found herself in the doctor's office with lists of pains and symptoms, rashes and spots.

Her teenage years were consumed with OCD and her eating disorder, and this seemed to keep the hypochondria at bay. But it resurfaced in college, and she began to self-medicate. She also started working in medical offices that, instead of worsening her hypochondria, actually soothed it; she found that having some control in a medical environment, even if it was just organizing patient files, helped her feel more in control over her symptoms. Still, her college years (and they are many, as she earned a PhD in literature) were ones of poor nutrition, alcohol and non-prescribed prescription drugs as well as angst at literary theories like deconstructionism. None of this sounds quite funny, but truly, Traig has a way of making it so.

Because the market has been flooded with horrible childhood memoirs, Traig's is refreshing. She doesn't lay blame (except with her genetic pool), and her tone is good-natured and self-mocking. She is a charming narrator, and her supporting cast --- her raucous and kind family and strung-out friends --- are interesting as well. From her unorthodox teaching methods as a grad student to her love of 1970s drug company marketing practices, Traig expands her story beyond her body yet is able to tie it all in to make a cohesive whole. She explains hypochondria clearly but without dull medical technical details, and is sensitive enough to make sure that the readers are laughing with her and not at hypochondriacs in general.

The book also includes some oddly hypnotic and beautifully graphic Victorian portraits of patients with conditions like Lupus Erythematosus, Molluscum Fibrosum and Rhinoscleroma. The appendix is full of gems such as "handy phrases for the hypochondriac traveler as translated somewhat unreliably on my computer," "diseases that would make nice names if they meant something else" and "hypochondria haiku."

WELL ENOUGH ALONE is funny and surprisingly sweet. A bit unfocused at times, it is a good book overall and gets better as it goes along.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

Very funny and well-written
Jennifer Traig's Well Enough Alone is a memoir centered around the author's health, a history of the real and perceived sicknesses and syndromes and symptoms that have shaped her life. Traig writes about a childhood soaked in free samples of prescription medications foisted on her father, a physician, about her discomfort with her body and its emanations, about her life as a hypochondriacal college and grad student. She discusses the social joys of food poisoning, the heartbreak of eczema. Her chapters mix memoir with medical information and the occasional health-related historical tidbit (e.g., Abraham Lincoln's final bowel movement is on display in a museum in Baltimore; George Washington's teeth were spring-loaded, so that he was compelled to clench his jaw at all times to keep his mouth shut). The result is a narrative that flows so smoothly you barely notice when it changes direction, from puberty to bat mitzvah to the Talmud to donkey urine, autopsies, the Eucharist, and breasts.

A book-length investigation of hypochondria might seem an unlikely vehicle for humor, but Traig's a very funny writer. There's a delightful turn of phrase or two on nearly every page of the book. Most of these I merely appreciated in silence, but a passage in Traig's chapter on the breast reduction surgery she underwent sent me into a sort of hysterical tittering that made the children come running from another room:

"When I heard about the 'pencil test'--an assessment of perkiness in which you place a pencil under your breast and pray the breast is not saggy enough to keep the pencil in place--I was eager to see what, besides pencils, my breasts could actually hold. I went from pencils to playing cards to CDs, stopping only after I successfully held up a VHS tape."

Traig's pendulous, VHS-holding breasts would eventually be much reduced. The size she selected, after some research, was a 36C:

"The end result would be a perky little 36C, a size I'd settled on after spending several weeks staring at women's chests. Friends, relatives, elderly nuns: no one was spared my penetrating gaze. Companions started to avoid going out with me. 'Oh, cut it out, will you?' my best friend pleaded. 'You're embarrassing every woman here. Well, except for the 34B with the graying brush cut, who's mouthing you her phone number.'"

Traig is an honest writer--unless she's exaggerating for effect--insofar as she paints herself as a very unlikable person at times. She is immature and abrasive; she drinks too much (or did) and takes (or took) drugs and doesn't practice good dental hygiene; she was highly irresponsible as a teacher when in graduate school. On the other hand, Traig is self-aware and self-condemning, chastising herself for this behavior, which one rather admires. Whatever the childishness of her first several decades, Traig seems well past it now.

But while I'm not entirely sure I like the author's persona, the quality of her writing is not in question. Well Enough Alone is a fascinating and funny book.

-- Debra Hamel ... Read more

Product Description
Writing with grace, humor, and an expert's eye for revealing detail, Susan Baur illuminates the processes by which hypochondriacs come to adopt and maintain illness as a way of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

healing power of history & literature
A graceful, lovely little book - I am delighted to be offered Miguel de Unamuno and Hannah Arendt for self-help! (And I wish more popular psychology books hadbibliographies like hers!)

A partial etiology of hypochondria
Baur, a psychologist,efficiently examines the 'woeful imaginings' of the hypochondriac -- from mostly historical perspectives. A chapter on world-class hypochondriac James Boswell, biographer of Samuel Johnson, is a highlight, as is a chapter on European treatments and philosophies of this malady. Imagined illness' role in childhood, among the elderly, in other cultures; its function in relationships -- all discussed. The historic stuff is great. The book falters on the contemporary problems of hypochondria. Baur's clinical approach seems sensible and pragmatic, and I would suspect that it doesn't work.Can hypochondriacs really 'unlearn' it? I wish she had dug a little deeper in her final chapter, "Getting Better." Definitely worth reading. ... Read more

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"There’s so much to worry about. Being tall can mean an early demise. Being short can kill, too. Then there are the perils of golfer’s liver and Chinese Restaurant syndrome ..."

A witty, highly entertaining compendium of the many obscure potential killers that lurk in modern society.From telephone stroke (holding the receiver too tightly to one’s head) to the most common housework-related fatalities among men, health journalist John Naish culls the most intriguing, odd, and completely true medical findings and bizarre syndromes.

Fans of The Worst Case Scenario books and Schott’s Original Miscellany will revel in this latest addition to the reference shelf. But don’t let it make you fret too much—research shows that worrying about your health quadruples your chances of an early death. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Hypochondria really can kill you!
Slim and inconsequential compendium of strange diseases and research into hypochondria.One interesting tidbit:Hypochondria really can kill you!

The nocebo effect, the opposite of the placebo effect, is a real and documented danger.One study of heart patients taking aspirin divided the study into two groups, one warned of the side effects of aspirin, the other not.The group warned about the side effects were three times likely to suffer them.Another study of a group of women with equal risk factors found that those who believed they were susceptible to heart disease were four times more likely to die of heart disease.

A light, fun read, despite the topic!
There are parts of this book a real Hypochondriac should avoid.Even I (and I've never thought of myself as that much of a Hypochondriac) found myself thinking twice about how much more likely I am to die of a heart attack on a Monday (work stress) or what my height has predisposed me to (as if I can do anything about that).I didn't go so far as to decide to stop brushing my teeth (an activity that evidently injures over 2,000 people a year) or to run screaming from wheelbarrows (they injure 1,000 people a year), but I certainly view some activities in a new light.

The other part of the book, comprised of what sound like made-up diseases (Festive Auto Disorder?) is a hilarious read.In a way, it brings to light some of the ridiculousness in society today.For example, whiplash is a condition not really recognized in Greece.Even in a similar car accident, they will not walk away rubbing their necks crying `I have whiplash!'Why?Because they don't have the legal system we do.There's no benefit to being `injured' after a car wreck, so they are not.Sure, they may have a sore neck for a few days (it was a wreck, after all), but it goes away and everything is fine.Other than having to buy a new car and the hike in insurance rates, I'm sure.

The book also points to a number of cases where the `injury' was prolonged or worsened (psychologically) because of litigation.People are willing to talk themselves into being in greater pain for a longer period of time just to make their lawyer a few quick bucks.Sad, but true.Now, I'm not saying that the drunk driver that slams into you and causes you to lose a limb shouldn't pay.But the little old lady who tapped the back of your car at the stop light didn't disable you, and it's sad that there are people who sue over things like that.

One quibble: he once refers to `Kansas University Medical Center' (pg 92).There is no `Kansas University'.There is a KUMED, which stands for (unlikely as it is) `University of Kansas Medical Center'.Honestly, this (as a KU grad) really irritated me.As simple Google search reveals the real name of the hospital!It's a sloppy error that detracts from an otherwise stellar book.

Overall it's a thought-provoking read without being too heavy or technical.Sure, I wish there had been more detail on some of the cases, and a little more information on some of the conditions, but it's a small book and it really is, I think, intended for entertainment.And on that, it delivers.I highly recommend it, unless you're going to walk away from it convinced you have Hairdresser's Nipple or Trucker's Trouser... ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Plain talk on how the mind affects the body
Dr. Goodman, an eminent psychiatrist, has written a very comprehensive andreadable book about the many ways--some of them startling--that the mindcan affect the body. Dr. Goodman peoples the book with a host of memorablecharacters, and tells their stories in a non-judgmental manner. Hisdiscussion of the bizarre Munchausen's Syndrome is especially well-worthreading, for good education about this incurable and painful process ofself-induced sickness.A word of warning: as a person coping with thedevastation of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I took issue with the gooddoctor's assessment that this is a purely psychogenic problem, and relatedto women's problems in coping with the demands of playing many roles.Thisis a minor flaw in a very readable and educational book. ... Read more

Product Description
The hilarious first-person account of life as a hypochondriac-from the critically acclaimed author of Devil in the Details.

Jennifer Traig does not suffer from lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, or muscular dystrophy. Nor does she have SUDS, the mysterious disorder that claims healthy young Asian men in their sleep. What she does have is hypochondria. In Well Enough Alone, Traig provides an uproariously funny inquiry into her ailment, as well as a well-researched history of the disorder. While chronicling her life as a hypochondriac and the minor conditions that helped to fuel her persistent self-diagnosis, she offers a literary tour of the disorder's past and present. And by the end, her journey leaves her more knowledgeable, a little less neurotic, and-one might say-healthier. ... Read more

Product Description
The good news is Jennifer Traig does not have lupus, multiple sclerosis, Huntington s disease, Crohn's disease, or muscular dystrophy. She discovers that she does not have SUDS, the mysterious disorder that claims healthy young Asian men in their sleep, nor does she have Foreign Accent Syndrome, the bizarre but real neurological condition that transforms native West Virginians into Eliza Doolittle overnight. What she does have is hypochondria. Jenny Traig's inquiry into her ailment is not only an uproariously funny account but also a literary tour of hypochondria, past and present: the implied hypochondria of the Talmud, the flatulence-obsessed eighteenth century, and the malady s current unfortunate lack of a celebrity spokesperson. At the same time, Traig provides an intimate look at the complement of minor conditions that have concealed her essential health and driven her persistent self-diagnosis: the eczema, the shaky hands, and, worst of all, the bad hair. To her surprise, she ends her journey more knowledgeable than she was when she started out, a little less neurotic, and one might say healthier. Well Enough Alone is the definitive book on being worried well, in all of its gruesome and hysterical detail, from one of our funniest and most distinctive literary voices. ... Read more

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This article covers Hypochondria: A mental disorder characterized by an excessive and habitual preoccupation with personal health and a tendency to interpret insignificant or imaginary conditions as evidence of serious disease; also called hypochondriasis.

The article is excerpted fromGale Encyclopedia of Psychology. This single-volume, accessible resource covers the entire spectrum of psychology, including: notable people, theories and terms; landmark case studies and experiments; applications of psychology in advertising, medicine and sports; and career information. More than 650 articles -- 65% of those are entirely new or updated since the last edition. Each article ranges from 25 to 1,500 words, covering the topics researchers want to know about, including:
Abnormal psychology
Bipolar disorder
Dyslexia
Sigmund Freud
Insomnia
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Unconscious motivation
And hundreds more

In addition to more that 175 photographs, charts and graphs, students will also find a new glossary of over 350 terms, an updated organizations list and an updated and expanded index.

Published/Released: October 2000 ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Opopanax chironium, also known as sweet myrrh or bisabol myrrh, is a herb that grows one to three feet high and produces a large, yellow flower. The plant thrives in warm climates like Iran, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Somalia, but also grows in cooler climates. Some view opopanax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior quality.A consumable resin can be extracted from opopanax by cutting the plant at the base of a stem and sun-drying the juice that flows out. Though people often find the taste acrid and bitter, the highly flammable resin can be burned as incense to produce a scent somewhat like balsam or lavender. The resin has been used in the treatment of spasms, and, before that, as an emmenagogue, in the treatment of asthma, chronic visceral infections, hysteria and hypochondria. Opopanax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Clinical Psychiatry News, published by International Medical News Group on September 1, 2002. The length of the article is 519 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: CBT for hypochondria helps relieve symptoms, improves social functioning. (187 Patients in 6-week Study).
Author: Carl Sherman
Publication: Clinical Psychiatry News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2002
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 30Issue: 9Page: 42(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Medical Update, published by Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. on May 1, 1992. The length of the article is 604 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: "It's all in your head" - or is it? (hypochondria)
Publication: Medical Update (Newsletter)
Date: May 1, 1992
Publisher: Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc.
Volume: v15Issue: n11Page: p2(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more