They Can't Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness [Paperback]

David D. Clarke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2007

Diagnostic tests are unable to find the cause of symptoms in at least half of all medical patients, most of whom are ill because of hidden stresses. Dr. David Clarke has done pioneering work with over 7,000 of these patients, often sent to him as a last resort. In plain language he describes the major types of stress and explains steps for treatment with a range of effective techniques. Case histories that read like medical mysteries illustrate the concepts and make them easy to apply. This significant book offers real solutions to put a stop to the stress illness epidemic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dr. Clarke's book is required reading for our physician assistant students. Learning to assess stress illness should be part of every clinician's medical education. His book is an invaluable resource for teaching medical providers to evaluate and manage stress illness.
--Judy Ortiz MHS, MS, PA-C, Academic Coordinator/Associate Director/Associate Professor, Pacific University School of Physician Assistant Studies, Forest Grove, OR




Dr. Clarke is the most gifted person I have ever met in teaching about stress-related illness.
--Susan W. Tolle, MD, FACP, Cornelia Hayes Stevens Chair; Director, Center for Ethics in Health Care, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR

About the Author

Dr. Clarke is a clinical assistant professor of medicine with Oregon Health Sciences University and a clinical lecturer with Pacific University, and has had a private practice since 1984. He developed an award-winning monthly seminar on stress illness, and local doctors have given their patients 50,000 copies of his brochure on this topic. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Sentient Publications; 1 edition (September 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591810647
• ISBN-13: 978-1591810643
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.6 x 6.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. David Clarke is President of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association (www.ppdassociation.org) and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology Emeritus and Assistant Director of the Center for Ethics both at Oregon Health & Science University. He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, and practiced in Portland, Oregon from 1984 to 2009. David Clarke has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care.

Dr. Clarke received his B. A. in psychology from Williams College (Phi Beta Kappa), and his medical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1979. Since then he has successfully cared for thousands of patients with stress illness, often sent to him after other doctors were unable to help them. He has been a visiting professor at Oxford University Hospital in England and at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. He was twice named a Top Doctor in Portland Monthly magazine.

Dr. Clarke's book They Can't Find Anything Wrong! was published in October, 2007. Leading medical school professors gave it strong endorsements and he is invited to speak at teaching hospitals and medical conferences throughout North America and in Europe. Dr Clarke has done over 100 broadcast interviews. His twenty TV appearances include WABC (NY), WGN (Chicago), WJLA (D.C.), KRON (SF), WFAA (Dallas) and radio interviews include Rosie O'Donnell, Montel Williams and KKZZ, KRLA & KPFK (Los Angeles), WLTW & WOR (New York), WBZ (Boston) and KYW (Philadelphia). The book has been featured in several magazines (including Elle).

For his own stress he prescribes playing indoor soccer, photography, hiking among mountains, adventures with his family and his wife's cooking. He lives in Happy Valley, Oregon, which is near Portland.

His web site and blog called "The Stress Check-Up" can be found at www.stressillness.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The solution to stress induced illness December 16, 2007

By Allan J. Masison

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I highly recommend this book.

There have been many books about stress induced illness.

Dr. Sarno is probably the most well known in the area of stress induced pain. His book, "Healing Back Pain" has been a best seller. Thousands of people have recovered from back pain without surgery as a result of his books. Many patients have problems accepting his theory because it is somewhat technical. They state that "the pain is real; it is not in my head," which of course is true but misses the point. Dr. Sarno recommends therapy for those who have followed his treatment program but still have pain.

It appears that, although thousands have recovered, many do not recover completely from stress induced pain and remain pain free for the rest of their lives. The pain frequently comes back, moves around and never seems to go away. This situation is a common complaint on the back pain forums. Dr. Clarke's book provides an answer.

Dr. Clarke refers to stress induced pain as "stress illness." His treatment consists of uncovering the emotions that are causing the stress and developing a course of action to react to these emotions and eliminate the pain.

Dr. Clarke interviews his patient until he finds the cause of the stress and then guides his patient to a solution to eliminate the stress. He has been following this procedure with remarkable success at the rate of approximately 400 patients a year for over 20 years.

At the present time, mainstream medicine does not understand stress illness and their patients suffer accordingly.

Neither Dr. Sarno's nor Dr. Clarke's treatments can be considered alternative medicine. The treatments are more appropriately described as procedures to be followed as a result of a correct diagnosis of the patient's problem.

Dr. Clarke doesn't try to convince the patient of Dr. Sarno's theory, that is, that the pain is the result of repressed rage. Dr. Clarke just goes ahead looking for the cause of the stress and suggests a way to eliminate it. He is successful and the patient is cured. This is adequate proof of the correct diagnosis.

The case studies are fascinating. He seems to have the ability and technique of a therapist but his procedures are not too difficult to follow and can be very helpful to the reader. He guides the patient in discovering the cause of the stress and the relationship to the pain.

Dr. Clarke maintains that the emotions that create the stress must be uncovered. Sometimes just the knowledge of the emotions involved is sufficient as illustrated in his case studies, but sometimes further action is required of the patient. This is an excellent book for understanding the complete process of resolving stress illness pain. Dr. Clarke's desire is that it be a self help book.

Mainstream medicine has been slow in accepting the concept that stress causes pain. Dr. Sarno has been the pioneer; Dr. Clarke is continuing the process. Some day, hopefully, mainstream medicine will have the knowledge of the correct diagnosis and cure their patients that are now in the process of continued suffering.

This book is a treat. It is a page turner. It is also one of the most helpful books on the subject of pain from stress. I predict that it will become a classic.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb read October 28, 2007

By Marc K. Binder

Format:Paperback

As a fellow digestive disease specialist, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of Dr. Clarke's superb work. Patients with years of distress and negative tests with no answers, hunger for not only relief of their symptoms, but also for respect, understanding, and dignity. The answers to their problems are not easily found, and do not conveniently lie at the tip of yet another endoscope or costly imaging procedure. Instead, sensitive, caring, and sophisticated investigation is required, the kind rarely taught in formal teaching programs. This book is a key for that puzzle; a crucial addition to any physician's library and for anyone dealing with a chronic physical problem. After all, even those of us with identifiable diseases often have superimposed and complicating stress components.
The writing is compelling, touching, and replete with hope,inspiration, and healing via guided self-discovery. Dr. Clarke's book is required reading in understanding the complexities of the human physical condition - theoretically evolved to perfection after thousands of years, only to be brought to its knees by stress illnesses induced by the dysfunction of family systems, abuse, and personal tragedy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally October 28, 2007

By Marc W. Baisden

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a Mental Health Clinician it is refreshing to find a physician that can put into words what our patient's having been telling us for years. Dr. Clarke can sit with a patient as well as any therapist and get to the heart of what has been affecting our patients on the physical levels, which also will help to heal the mental and spiritual aspects of out patients. It's refresshing to find an MD that will spend time to hear a patient with empathy, non-judgmentally anf then treat the soul of a person. This book is one of those rare jems that practioners and therapists need to read and use in their practise. Thank you Dr. Clark.