As I discussed in Chapter 1, the fact that good people often have to endure great tragedies while the wicked often prosper without being punished challenges the concept that the omnipotent and benevolent God closely supervises human affairs. However, an even more serious challenge comes from the historical evils unleashed in the twentieth century—the two world wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam ...

Chronic pain is highly prevalent in older adults, contributes to activity restriction and social isolation, disrupts family and interpersonal relationships, and poses a significant economic burden to society. Negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, helplessness, and hopelessness are associated with chronic pain and contribute to poor quality of life, impaired interpersonal and social functi...

How can you tell if you are psychologically depressed? How do you ask? What if you are only depressed sometimes? I am a first-year psychology student, I live in college, and I seem to be having plenty of mood swings lately. I used to be very bubbly and enthusiastic and happy and relaxed all the time, but lately, I've just been edgy and sad, and I cry a lot. What's going on? I've been at univers...

How can you tell if you are psychologically depressed? How do you ask? What if you are only depressed sometimes? I am a first-year psychology student, I live in college, and I seem to be having plenty of mood swings lately. I used to be very bubbly and enthusiastic and happy and relaxed all the time, but lately, I've just been edgy and sad, and I cry a lot. What's going on? I've been at univers...

BACKGROUND Coping has traditionally been measured with inventories containing many items meant to identify specific coping strategies. An alternative is to develop a shorter inventory that focusses on coping expectancies which may determine the extent to which an individual attempts to cope actively. PURPOSE This paper explores the usefulness and validity of a simplified seven-item questionna...

OBJECTIVE Doctor-patient relationships in China have been deteriorating for the past 10 years. Many Chinese doctors are involved in tense and conflictual doctor-patient relationships. Most patients do not trust doctors or other medical staff and physical attacks on these professionals have become a common event. The Balint group offers a better understanding of the doctor-patient relationship i...

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors that predispose to suicidal thinking and behaviours in young Australians who visit a general practitioner. METHOD A clinical audit program that required a pre-entry survey of 50 young people attending a GP. RESULTS Suicidal thinking and behaviours in young people have been increasing over the past decades. In this survey of over 6000 young Australians, evid...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Patients respond to serious illness in different ways. We wished to determine whether different attitudes toward illness are associated with survival after stroke. METHODS Three hundred seventy-two stroke patients were identified and medically assessed as part of a randomized trial to evaluate a stroke family care worker. They had all survived 6 months from randomizatio...

Aims and method To explore experiences of psychiatrists considering medication for patients with personality disorder by analysis of transcribed, semi-structured interviews with consultants. Results Themes show important relational processes in which not prescribing is expected to be experienced as uncaring rejection, and psychiatrists felt helpless and inadequate as doctors when unable to reli...

The manner in which a patient copes with psychosocial stress factors may be described as «allostatic load» – the balance between the individual’s coping resources and the sociocultural expectations and demands to which the individual is exposed. Context and biography are crucial for coping, and vulnerable individuals more readily develop an inability to cope. Maintaining factors for subjective ...