Phantom Illness: Shattering the Myth of Hypochondria (Paperback)

by Brian Fallon (Author), Carla Cantor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Carla Cantor's long, dark road to hypochondria began when she crashed a car she was driving, killing a friend of hers. She couldn't forgive herself, and a few years later began imagining that she was suffering from lupus. Many years and two hospitalizations later, she wrote this book not only about her experiences, but about hypochondria in general (now more politely referred to as a "somatoform disorder"). No matter what one chooses to call them, psychosomatic disorders--imagined illnesses--present a huge burden to medical systems, and only by taking them seriously can we hope to alleviate their costs. By putting a human face on this often laughed-at syndrome, and by showing ways out of it, Cantor provides a great service not only to "somatizers" and their loved ones, but to the entire healthcare system.

From Publishers Weekly
Challenging the popular image of hypochondriacs as self-involved, whiny complainers, freelance journalist Cantor portrays them as severely troubled individuals whose preoccupation with bodily symptoms and unrelenting fears about disease often amount to a severe, debilitating psychiatric illness. Psychoanalysts view hypochondria as a way of displacing anger against a parent onto a more acceptable target-oneself. To cognitive therapists, hypochondria is a learned response, more like a bad habit than a neurosis. Cantor, herself a hypochondriac, controls her anxiety and phobic tendencies with help from Prozac. Her informative report, written in collaboration with Fallon, a physician and clinical psychiatry professor at Columbia University, includes case histories, guidelines for persons considering treatment and a discussion of stress, depression, panic disorders, ulcers, chronic fatigue syndrome, psychosomatic illness and related problems. First serial to Ladies' Home Journal; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 351 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (August 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395859921
• ISBN-13: 978-0395859926
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #574,901 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phantom Illness is Real, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Phantom Illness: Shattering the Myth of Hypochondria (Hardcover)

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 also believe it is linked to OCD (obsessive compulsive behavior) and other diseases such as fibromyalgia. These are all due to chemical imbalances as Cantor points out and they can be helped by the use of SSRI drugs such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft, and by behavioral therapy. There are millions of people who have hypochondriasis, but most either are overlooked by their doctors as crocks or they never go to doctors because they fear the doctors will indeed find a real physical disease.

This book is well written and I am surprised that it sales rank is so low and that no one else has written a review.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helped me a LOT!, January 3, 1999

By A Customer

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 get treatment for my problem. I was also glad to see that she addressed the stigma hypochondria has in our society.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Putting my fears into perspective, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

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!