Overview: They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!

Every year in the United States, millions of people who seek medical care are left undiagnosed or inadequately treated because examinations and tests can’t find the cause of their illness.  The diagnosis in many of these patients is stress illness and the symptoms they suffer are perfectly real. 

Consider some of the symptoms that may be experienced by those afflicted with stress illness: 

• Pain such as headache, back pain, chest pain, muscle or joint pain and abdominal or pelvic pain
• Abnormal swallowing, digestion or bowel function including constipation, diarrhea, bloating, nausea and vomiting
• Discomfort in the bladder or during urination
• Respiratory symptoms including difficulty breathing, cough, throat and vocal changes
• Heart palpitations
• Pelvic and vaginal irritation, premenstrual or menstrual pain
• Fatigue; abnormal sleeping or eating
• Symptoms related to nerve function such as blurred vision, dizziness, ringing in the ears, itching of the skin, sweating, numbness or tingling

Because these symptoms can also result from diseases that can be diagnosed through tests – visible illnesses – it is that much more baffling when the causes can’t be identified. 

Now this is changing, thanks to the pioneering work of award-winning physician David D. Clarke, M.D. and others working in the field of stress medicine.  In They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!, Dr. Clarke shares a life-changing approach to stress illness that is based on detailed interviews with and successful treatment of over 7000 patients.

Take the case of Ellen, whose story begins Chapter 1.  Ellen was ill for fifteen years and had given up hope.  Extensive diagnostic testing during sixty hospital stays at a prestigious university hadn’t revealed a cause.  After Dr. Clarke introduced himself, she informed him he would be wasting his time trying to help.  Much to her surprise, in a little over an hour Dr. Clarke found and successfully treated the stress that caused her symptoms.

Like Ellen, the millions of Americans with stress illness are usually unaware of the nature or degree of the stress responsible for their symptoms.  Unfortunately, few physicians are trained to reliably detect and manage this problem.  Consequently, stress illness patients often find themselves in a medical blind spot and subjected to unnecessary tests and unsuitable treatments. 

They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! meets the needs of these patients, their physicians and the health care system as a whole.  Written in a warm, non-technical, story-telling style, this comprehensive guide is the first to provide readers with a focus on the five distinct types of stress that can cause illness directly: 

• Persistent effects from childhood stress (over fifty percent of cases)
• Current stress
• Post-traumatic stress
• Depression
• Anxiety  

In his approach to alleviating symptoms, Dr. Clarke goes beyond the typical lifestyle/stress management guides with his perceptions about finding and removing hidden impediments to lasting and meaningful change.  Moreover, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! also addresses longstanding problems in the health care system that let so many patients fall through the cracks between disease diagnosis and mental health treatment.

Throughout the book, Dr. Clarke uses numerous case histories of patients he has treated.  The stories in They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! are carefully selected to help readers uncover their own hidden stresses.  This is the essential first step toward understanding and alleviating stress illness symptoms.  Many of the stories are also moving and inspiring.

In Part I (Chapters 1 & 2), Dr. Clarke establishes a foundation for understanding stress illness, with suggestions for how readers can listen to their body’s messages.  Part I also reviews the connection between life experiences and symptoms and describes how patients and their doctors can work together to benefit from the book.  In Part II (Chapters 3 – 9), he explores each of the five kinds of stress (childhood stress, current stress, post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety), together with an examination of illness caused by more than one form of stress or in combination with visible illnesses.  He also addresses the practical steps for treatment and healing with a range of techniques, medications and other options for alleviating symptoms.  Finally, in Part III (Chapters 10 & 11), Dr. Clarke reviews ideas for helping loved ones overcome stress illness.  He concludes by laying out a model for patients, doctors, the medical community and the general public, individually and collectively, to put a stop to the epidemic.

They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! is a book that can transform lives by offering hope and guidance so that millions can live the lives they were always meant to have.