RESISTANCE TO HEALTH - WHEN THE MIND INTERFERES WITH THE DESIRE TO BECOME WELL

Secondary gain has long been viewed as a variable that can significant ly affect a patient's recovery from such conditions as chronic pain di sorders, factitious and somatoform disorders, and other psychological disorders. Secondary gain has not been evaluated in terms of its impac t on major illnesses such as cancer or autoimmune disorders. In this p aper I discuss how secondary gain can be present in such illnesses and how it results in a resistance to health. This resistance to health c an lead not only to medical noncompliance, but can also ultimately aff ect the progression and recovery from the illness. I describe how hypn osis can be used to ferret out this resistance to health and how patie nts in a hypnotic state will indicate or express their resistance to b ecoming healthy. The advantage of this approach is that it enables the clinician to deal directly with the patient's unconscious resistance to health.