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Biomedical subjects

R G Druss

Publications and source records attributed to R G Druss.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Adaptive responses to illness and disability. Healthy denial.

The authors attempt to understand the nature and sources of "resilience" by a comparison of three individuals who showed unusual courage in the face of death, illness, and congenital disability. Various adaptive traits that enabled them to function effectively and remain optimistic are discussed. The authors specifically consider the role of "healthy" denial and argue that it does not fully explain or account for their singular optimism confronting adversity. The term "resilience" is proposed to describe both the particular cognitive style of "hardiness" and the "ego strength" that characterize such patients. Possible sources and origins of resilience are suggested. Finally, implications for the treatment of such patients are considered.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Denial of illness: a reappraisal.

The authors attempt to understand the nature of denial of illness by an examination of two patients with serious and disfiguring physical disorders who postponed medical treatment for over a decade. Both patients subsequently had dramatic negative reactions to the therapeutic efforts of physicians caring for them. Various social, experiential, and characterologic determinants are discussed. In addition, the authors argue that the illness served important organizing functions: it sheltered these patients from the exigencies of everyday life; it allowed them to defeat the physician's efforts to effect a cure; and, finally, the disfigured physical state appeared to correspond to their internalized defective self-image and self-esteem.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Psychotherapy of patients with serious intercurrent medical illness (cancer).

Exploratory psychotherapy of patients with chronic intercurrent illness has received little attention by psychoanalysts. A young woman with life-long characterologic problems presented herself for analytic psychotherapy shortly after surgery and radiotherapy for a malignancy. The debility of her illness facilitated a slowdown in an action-prone patient and permitted the necessary introspection and regression. willing One finds in these patients a readiness to reorder priorities and a willingness to examine and make the most of their lives, and psychotherapy can therefore become an opportunity for positive change rather than just support for a medical catastrophe. The therapy must address itself to childhood losses and betrayals symbolically repeated in the current medical state.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1984

The psychological impact of immediate breast reconstruction for women with early breast cancer.

Twenty-five patients were evaluated, 13 who had immediate breast reconstruction and 12 who had delayed breast reconstruction for early breast cancer. Data were elicited about the psychological impact of the cancer, the mastectomy, and the reconstruction. Our results support the conclusion that immediate breast reconstruction is accompanied by a lower incidence of psychological morbidity postoperatively, and we recommend that immediate breast reconstruction be offered as an alternative to women with early breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Body image and perfectionism of ballerinas: comparison and contrast with anorexia nervosa.

The authors studied a group of young ballerinas through responses to a questionnaire and intensive interviews. The young women described a life characterized by complete dedication in which academics, social life, and pleasures were sacrificed and a program of intensive exercise and practice became their main activity. They tended to feel overweight in spite of being thin and continued to diet or to employ other means to become even thinner. Two heuristic conclusions were reached: (a) the goal of thinness was in part a flight from conflicts about adult sexuality that arose at puberty; and (b) repetitive practice was engaged in for its own sake, not for career advancement, in an attempt to lose themselves in a transcendental quest for perfection. A comparison was made between this group and girls of the same age with anorexia nervosa. Several similarities but many more differences were found. Findings are based on a very small sample and must be interpreted cautiously, but directions for further studies are implied.

Adolescent↗