In the 19th century, there used to be a condition called neurasthenia. People (usually women) would find themselves suddenly unable to function due to a host of inexplicable symptoms, often including fatigue, weakness, strange pains, dizziness and passing out. Doctors attributed the condition to a "weak nervous system," or neurasthenia. These women were often confined to their beds, where they would either recover or, eventually, die. And while nobody knew what caused this condition, at least everyone - doctors and laymen alike - took it seriously.
Today, many doctors shake their heads in wonder at stories like this. How could a condition such as neurasthenia simply disappear?
The answer: It hasn't. And while patients today who experience these same symptoms aren't given that quaint old diagnosis, often they don't get any diagnosis at all. They are all too often written off as having "anxiety," or some other form of, well, weakness of character, that absolves the doctor of having to try to do anything about their problem, or even to think about it very much.
At least in the 19th century, patients with dysautonomia were taken seriously, and were treated by their doctors with respect and sympathy.
Read here about dysautonomia, how to tell if you might have it, and what can be done about it.
Thank you for this post, Dr. Fogorost. I have a friend with Dysautonomia, and it’s nice to see doctors like you trying to get the word out. The most troubling part of this illness is the doubt and blame that friends and families can place on a patient – often because doctors themselves don’t recognize a real health problem.
At least in the 19th century, patients with dysautonomia were taken seriously, and were treated by their doctors with respect and sympathy
Respect and sympathy are not treatments or serious attempts to treat, they are now and were then, condescending, cop outs by professionals that refuse to make the time or effort to delve deeper, research and work harder for an actual TREATMENT. Not a sympathetic ear that suggests rest knowing that you have a 50/50 chance, get better or die.
Hi Andrea,
Let me get this right, are you saying that having respect for other people and having sympathy for the plight of other people are undesirable human traits?