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by em-bee 501 days ago
if only we could objectively (and easily) measure pain and energy levels (feeling tired) and even stress. stress is used here as a dismissal (not by you but the hypothetical doctor you are parodying) but stress too is a real health factor that people need help with.
2 comments
Intermernet 501 days ago
Nobel Laureate Barry Marshall (co discoverer of Helicobacter Pylori, cause of stomach ulcers) gave a talk to a graduating class at the university he went to (can't find link, but it's on the net somewhere). He talks about "stress" being a fertile area of research for medical advances. His argument is that stress is rarely the direct cause of anything. It might be a secondary cause, or it might be a symptom, but research into ailments currently attributed to "stress" is a really good direction for the aspiring young medical research scientists out there.
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rvense 501 days ago
Yeah, sorry, that wasn't meant to be dismissive of stress or burnout. There's probably a reason doctors always ask about it, but it can be an annoying to have to talk about your job when you've got physical symptoms.

(As a sidenote, why do doctors always assume stress is work related? Work is fine, but have you looked at the world...)

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em-bee 501 days ago
that wasn't meant to be dismissive of stress or burnout

just to be clear, i knew it wasn't.

why do doctors always assume stress is work related? Work is fine, but have you looked at the world

oh absolutely so much. i hide in my work when i have stress at home. i can think of two factors. as far as the world is going, most people don't care enough about it to let that stress them, so they do't even see it. myself i avoid stress from world affairs by actively working on making things better (within my means, by showing my friends and neighbors that there is hope yet for the future). but there is also stress at home, and that seems to be also overlooked. i think the reason here is that the doctors are not trained to deal with that and also don't want you to come to them to handle your family problems. there are other trained professionals for that. though personally it would really be nice if we had a family doctor who not only deals with physical but also mental health.

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