Psychosomatic theory of disease in myasthenia gravis patients - An expression of maladaptive coping?

42 patients suffering from myasthenia gravis were examined shortly after fi nding the diagnosis, 6 months later and 18 months later as well. The topic of interest was patient's creation of a psychosomatic theory of their disea se in connection with coping behaviour Data came from a semistructured inte rview with the patient, from a personality questionnaire (FPI), from a copi ng questionnaire (FKV), from ratings about neurotic symptoms and doctor-pat ient-relationship as from somatic facts like severity scores, Patients having a psychosomatic theory of their disease were more depressiv e, more excitable and more stressed at the first date. But further on they improved particularly in the depression-scales and adjusted to the control- group. It is rather unlikely that this improvement of depression was signif icantly influenced by the psychosomatic theories, because these theories de creased in quantity similarly to the dimension of depression. Both depressi on and creating a psychosomatic theory seem to be an expression of a certai n way of coping which could be called "maladaptive". Because of the fairly good prognosis of myasthenia this maladaptive way of coping decreases rathe r quickly. Nevertheless need patients with psychosomatic theories special h elp in the beginning of the disease to prevent a depressive crisis.