One CBT technique involves getting patients who believe their headaches are a sign of a brain tumour to create a pie chart where they imagine all the people who woke up that day with a headache, and list the causes for it according to probability: dehydration, a cold, migraine, tiredness, too much caffeine.
"Sometimes this is a complete revelation to them," says Dr Helen Seivewright, clinical research fellow at Imperial College, who is also working on the study. "It opens up this world where not every symptom means the worst diagnosis."
【重点单词及短语】
GP: general practitioner 私人医生;家庭医生
be preoccupied with 专注于;专心于
in the grip of 受……控制
impending adj. 即将发生的;迫近的
cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) 认知行为疗法
turn around 转变;改观
pie chart 饼状图;圆形分格统计图表
revelation n. 启示;被揭露的真相
Question time:
1. What is health anxiety?
2. Why do some people get health anxiety?
3. Which way is considered to be effective to health anxiety?