They Can't Find Anything Wrong: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness

by David D. Clarke

A specialist in Stress Illness reveals how to identify and remedy this potentially serious health issue that too often goes undiagnosed.

Every year, millions of people seek medical care for symptoms that diagnostic tests are unable to explain. Sent away frustrated, or thinking it's "all in their heads," the truth is that many of these people are ill because of hidden stresses.

Dr. David Clarke has done pioneering work with thousands of these patients, often sent to him as a last resort. In They Can't Find Anything Wrong, he offers real solutions to put a stop to the stress illness epidemic. Dr. Clarke describes the major types of stress and explains steps for treatment with a range of effective techniques. Case histories that read like medical mysteries illustrate the concepts and make them easy to apply.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Personal Growth, Self Help, Medicine, Psychology

203 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has a lot of good information if doctors can't, in fact, find anything wrong with you. I myself have had chronic pain for almost 15 years. The downside is that must of the case studies are patients with stomach issues (pain and nausea) and not a wide range of issues. Additionally, the case studies seemed too easily and conveniently solved. However I understand in actuality, it probably was not. It was probably also condense for easy reading. It still felt discouraging. I think this is a good first step in accepting that this could be a problem with the brain and not the body.

[Sylvia Massara · Rating 5 out of 5]

In line with other books I have read/studied on rewiring your brain for health, this is yet another excellent book on the subject. Dr Clarke, as with other mind/body doctors, takes the view that repressed and suppressed emotions can be the cause of health conditions where pathology is not present. There is a long list of these conditions--I should know! Because out of something like 34 conditions, I suffer from 11 of them. Some of these include IBS, functional dyspepsia, pelvic pain, irritable/painful bladder, neck pain, back pain, as well as mental conditions such as anxiety and depression.

Unbelievably, these conditions are usually caused by a mind/body process rather than pathology, hence the reason doctors cannot find anything wrong. This book reassures the reader that they're not going mad, and that their pain (although no pathology is present) is very real, so much so that it impacts greatly on our psyche, the way we view ourselves and the world, our work, our relationships, etc.

Dr Clarke is a gastroenterologist who has treated thousands of patients with complaints that, while painful to the point of severity, are considered part of the mind/body syndrome and not some large tumour. The more we learn about ourselves and our past and present fears, anxieties, traumas, etc, the more we are equipped to tackle the issues affecting our health.

[Brandon H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are dealing with a chronic illness and all the tests keep coming back normal or "within range," you may find some much -needed answers here.

I give it 3.5 stars.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book on how stress can cause physical symptoms, it primarily consists of stories of patients, what their physical symptom was, how he eventually was able to learn the stress (sometimes decades old) that was influencing it, and approaches that seemed to help. If you aren't interested in reading through all of the examples, skip to chapter 9. I think this would be a good book for doctors to read, especially as an example of how big a role stress can play in a person's health.

[Antony Vitale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was written by a Doctor who has compasion and took the time to listen to his patients. He tells about the effects stress can have on your life. The book has given me insight as to the issues I had dealt with for years. The stress from from dealing with the horrific sights that I had seen in law enforcement, left me with health and emotional problems in my life after law enforcement. Great book!

[Vanda Denton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Clarke clearly explains psychosomatic illness and calls, rightly in my opinion, for a more comprehensive approach to modern medicine than we currently enjoy. Most of the book is filled with case studies, which may be comforting to many people suffering from stress, including past extreme experiences. However, it is not, neither does it claim to be, of help for a number of other types of ‘emotion-based’ illnesses.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about how stress, trauma, and emotional negativity can impact our physical health. Lots of real life examples of people literally worrying themselves sick. True stories, treatments, and teachings. A worthwhile read for medical and mental health professionals, and definitely for those who have been to the doctor with ailments without a clear cause and "They can't find anything wrong!"

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. Explains how "illness" can be coming from stress AND great ideas of how to deal with it.

[NiCole R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read and had some helpful tips. It had a lot of case stories from his practice which kind of bogged down the book. After a while I would skim as I felt he had a lot of miraculous healing from just talking to the patients. And it seems in real life chronic pain can be a lot more than that. But that being said, I did like the book and I do listen to interviews with him. He's a very intelligent and really cares about people.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book as a follow up to another mind-body approach to address chronic pain. The book was easy to read and I think there is a connection between stress and physiological pain. Hoping that I can share these points with my mom and her doctors to try to alleviate the pain that has been plaguing her for years.

[Linda Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought Provoking

Anyone who has had interactions with our Medical systems knows how frustrating it can be. . Many times, our hard working professionals don’t have the time or resources to “dig deep”. Even comes complete with a checklist that a patient can take with them when visiting their physicians. Great! I recommend this book for everyone.

[Talon Crist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very logical book. Shows so many possible examples of stress illnesses and how you can defeat them. I felt like I was given many tools to help my own chronic pain and how to access my trauma in order to heal. This was a very successful read for me!

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 I've read quite a few books on stress illness/mind body syndrome and most focus on things like back pain with side notes of GI issues. Since Dr. Clarke is a Gastroenterologist, his book focused mainly on GI issues which is something I really appreciated.

[Amit Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive

After reading Dr John Sarno book which helped me immensely, I was looking for something that has a larger range of the same concept. This is just that, a brilliant book!

[Marla Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for primary care clinicians. So much of the suffering we see has stress at its root and if we don’t address it, no amount of medication, surgery or testing will relieve the symptoms.

[Peta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alot of anecdotes, not a whole lot of explanation or ways to manage. It's ok, not what I was expecting and alot of referring back to anecdotes from previous chapters.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, 2.5 stars but bumping up to 3. A good intro to stress illnesses, but I like Sarno's take better.

[Kaelie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting read!!

[James Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I neither loved this book nor hated it (hence the three stars). The case studies started to get tedious but the information is potentially useful. It is helpful to think of stree illness as a medical possibility but it shouldn't be the go-to diagnosis (which the author openly stated) and we shouldn't think of this treatment as a panacea for all medical mysteries.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book defines stress illness. It has a framework for defining types of stress and some examples of successful exercises. The physician author seems credible. He shares multiple patient stories. He is a bit repetitive.

[Kerry]

apparently all of my problems are stress...this book looked like it could help

[Jen]

This guy lectured twice to my class..he's a bit preachy, but makes a good argument for the physical manifestations of emotional stress.

[E.Karim Ali]

for reading

[Katherine Reece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating. Well presented. Opens up many possibilities on how to heal.

[Denise Hlavka · Rating 4 out of 5]

More self help for chronic pain.
This book is full of real people examples that employed mind-body to help them.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars

You get the same from reading The mind body prescription. I expected more from a gastroenterologist since I have a functional disorder but yeah, not much new.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear. Very helpful.