Word: totman
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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SOCIAL CAUSES OF ILLNESS by Richard Totman Pantheon; 263 pages...
What makes people sick? Medical science believes that little things-parasites, bacteria and viruses-are the villains. Psychiatry suggests that people sometimes make themselves, or, more probably, imagine themselves to be ill Richard Totman, an Oxford University psychologist, offers another explanation He holds society responsible. Drawing upon empirical and anecdotal evidence he argues that many apparently "physical" illnesses-including ulcers, hypertension and heart disease, as well as cancer and the state of mental deterioration known as senility-are the products of an individual's inability to behave as the world expects him to. "The risk of be coming seriously...
...Totman believes that the two theories need not lead to exclusive approaches. He recognizes that much of modern medicine ignores the patient and concentrates instead on symptoms or systems. "The present-day practitioner," he writes, "functions more like a pill-dispenser, and the surgeon more like a maintenance mechanic." At the same time, though, Totman warns that an overly spiritual approach can ignore the microbes in favor of the mind...
...congruity and dissonance and salted with references to Life Change Units and th Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Society Causes of Illness is not easy to read. But it is worthwhile for doctors and patient! Both can be notorious for rushing to the pillbox when alternative methods ar preferable. As Totman points out, any one can tell when he is sick, even a la man. The trick is to determine why, an to treat the nonmicrobial causes of illness as well. - Peter Stoler