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24 The Founder | Wednesday 23 February 2011 Hypochondria: a health condition in its own right. Kate Brook Features Editor No one gets through life without a health scare. Everyone knows what it is to rush to the doctor in a panic, or to scour self-diagnosis websites with bated breath and sweaty palms. After a trip to the doctor, however, and perhaps a test or two, the majority of us go back to everyday life and forget all about it. But some do not. Some cannot. Some remain so convinced that their symptoms are the sign of a terminal disease that no amount of reassurance can convince them otherwise; others are so scared of what their doctor might say that they are unable to make an appointment in the first place. Hypochondria, now known as health anxiety or illness phobia, is frequently dismissed as needless fretting, a trivial concern of the neurotic and the self-absorbed. But in reality it is a genuine, disabling psychological condition, and it can have a devastating effect on a sufferer’s ability to lead a happy and fulfilling life. When I was sixteen, I spent the best part of a year convinced I was dying of multiple sclerosis. It began when I watched ‘Hilary and Jackie’, the biopic of the legendary cellist Jacqueline du Pré, whose career was cut short by MS when she was in her twenties and who died of the disease at the age of 42, fourteen years after it was diagnosed. By the end of the film, du Pré, played by Emily Watson, is confined to her bed, unable to control a single muscle in her body and dependent on carers to feed, wash and dress her. It was perhaps not a wise film choice for someone with a chronic fear of disease. But I didn’t think of that. I just thought it was a good film, so I watched it again, and again, and as I watched it, something happened in my brain. In the weeks that followed, I began to wonder if I wasn’t exhibiting some of the same symptoms du Pré had experienced in the early stages of her illness. The tired feeling I sometimes had in my legs, especially when I climbed stairs – did it mean something was wrong with me? My hands trembled sometimes too – should I be worried? The tingling sensation I occasionally felt in my back made me uneasy, as did the muscle palpitations that seemed to be occurring with increasing frequency. My concern rapidly turned into fear. Before long I was convinced that something terrible was happening to my body. Panicking, I googled ‘multiple sclerosis’. Reading the lists of symptoms brought me out in a cold sweat; those I had not already noticed I began looking for obsessively. After reading that uncontrollable head or tongue movements were always cause for serious concern, I found myself in front of the mirror, examining my tongue for signs of abnormal movement. I scrutinised my hands and panicked over the slightest tremor. I held my arms and legs in strenuous, unnatural positions and told myself that any resulting pain or muscle fatigue was evidence of something sinister. I even watched my shadow for twitches and shakes. It comes as no surprise to me now to learn that health anxiety is often classified within the Obsessive Compulsive spectrum of anxiety disorders. According to Terri Torevell of the charity Anxiety UK, some sufferers of health anxiety will go to their doctor ‘countless times’. Negative test results and verbal reassurance from medical professionals do nothing to quell their fears. Others, like me, are the opposite – they avoid doctors because they are too afraid to face up to the diagnosis they believe to be inevitable. I didn’t just avoid telling my doctor – I avoided telling anyone at all. For months, I kept my fears to myself. I longed for the reassurance doctors had offered me in the past, but I didn’t for a moment believe I would get it. There was so obviously something wrong with me, I thought, that anyone I told would have no option but share my concern. Whenever I considered going to my GP I imagined her recommending, with a grim expression, that I go to hospital for further tests, and I simply couldn’t bring myself to make the appointment. However miserable they were making me, I preferred to live with my fears than risk having them validated. Had it occurred to me at any point that I might be suffering from an anxiety disorder rather than an actual physical condition, I would undoubtedly have been able to move on much quicker than I did. Seeking help might have opened my eyes to the fact that being ‘healthy’ doesn’t necessarily mean being entirely pain or sensationfree, and crucially, to the possibility that my constant state of fear might not just have been the result, but the cause of the symptoms I was experiencing. ‘Anxiety produces very real physical symptoms,’ says Torevell. ‘With people suffering from health anxiety, they misinterpret these normal physical reactions to anxiety, and believe them to be signs of their feared illness. ‘One of the things we often say to people on the helpline, when they’re calling in the throes of a panic attack, is that nobody has ever died from a panic attack,’ she continues. ‘The worst thing that can happen to them is already happening. And panic attacks and prolonged anxiety cannot go on forever. It has its ebbs and flows, it has peaks and troughs and it will ease eventually.’ Calling a helpline such as this might have saved me months of misery. Instead, I let my fear take over my life. It cast a shadow over everything I did. I couldn’t bear to think about the future – about going to university, or starting a career, or travelling the world – because I didn’t believe I would live that long. I was plagued by a constant, nagging worry, which regularly escalated into panic. Sometimes I was so scared I couldn’t think straight. There was no respite, no situation in which I could feel at ease. I simply could not escape it. Eventually, when I could stand it no longer, I told my mother everything. Just talking to someone made me felt better, although it by no means solved everything. But as the days and weeks went by, I found myself feeling more relaxed. I began considering the possibility that my symptoms were nothing more than my body telling me to do some exercise. The less I worried, the less I noticed them. Gradually, they disappeared altogether, taking my anxiety with them. But my experience with health anxiety has left its mark. Even now, five years later, I avoid reading, watching or listening to anything that so much as mentions multiple sclerosis, and while I don’t fear it like I did, I do fear the appearance of some new and unmistakable symptom. I fear the blind panic that will inevitably ensue. I fear the sinking feeling, the cold sweat, the rising heart rate. Most of all, I fear the possibility that next time, my worries will be justified. Health anxiety is not trivial, and nor is it comic. It can ruin people’s lives. It ruined a good few months of mine, and I am fully aware that it might do so again. But next time, at least, I will know that I am not alone, and that help is out there, and that I do not have to suffer in silence. Anxiety UK is the nation’s leading anxiety disorders charity. Advice and support for sufferers of conditions including agoraphobia, post traumatic stress disorder and social phobia can be found at www. anxietyuk.org.uk, or by calling the helpline on 08444 775 774. Lines are open Monday to Friday between 9.30 and 5.30. All members of staff have personal experience with anxiety.
The Founder | Wednesday 23 February 2011 Features 25 Menswear: coming out of the shadows When there is so much to shout and be excited about in men’s fashion, I often wonder why there are not more people shouting and getting excited. To an extent, I am probably pandering to my deepest insecurity that menswear is not as valued as it should be. However, the simple fact is that menswear is constantly overshadowed by its opposite – womenswear. Yes, it’s true, the so-called more artistically beautiful womenswear far outshines menswear, which is viewed as a more boring and subdued spectacle. The simplest way to analyse the difference between the two is to glance at the press coverage and celebrity turnouts during their fashion weeks; menswear will have very little of both, while womenswear will have an abundance of both. The feeling I get is that generally, Menswear Fashion Week is perceived to be too dull overall to spark any real interest, whereas the endless glamour and decadence of Womenswear Fashion Week is deemed a nutritious feeding ground of superior quality for fashion-hungry predators. I, of course, disagree with this notion. Womenswear, without question, is exuberant, exhilarating and charismatic, but menswear has a sharper aesthetic and exudes raw power. The finer details, such as the cut of a suit, are everything. Menswear does not need to perform – it just needs to be. Josh Minopoli Milan’s annual Autumn/Winter 2011-12 Menswear Fashion Week has just concluded, and if ever proof was needed that menswear can be as intriguing and compelling as womenswear, then it can be found here. Versace put on a jaw-dropping feast for the eyes that had me on the edge of my seat when I looked through the photos. The clothes emitted smart, Italian prowess with quilted leather jackets and trousers, embellished sweaters and slicked hair. Shots of electric blue were also fired through the black of the collection in the form of gloves and coats. Indeed, if you ever thought menswear was scared to add colour to its winter collections, then take a look at this year’s Milan shows. Dolce & Gabbana, Sarah Burton for Alexander Mc- Queen, Moschino and Bottega Veneta all had blasts of bold red in their collections – a definite must-have colour for Autumn 2011-12. Burberry Porsum enjoyed showing off peacoats in an array of colours which included yellow, red, blue and tangerine orange. In a sophisticated collection enthused by the vanity of man, Frida Giannini for Gucci described the average male Gucci-wearer as ‘elegant, sophisticated – and proud.’ For me, these three words also sum up men’s fashion more generally. I can only hope that menswear continues to make a larger splash in the fashion world. There is hope, even if us male fashionistas aren’t as well provided for as women, with their monthly publications of Vogue. It has recently been announced that Jimmy Choo is launching its first collection of men’s shoes. Music to my ears. Even more encouragingly, Net-a- Porter are soon to be launching a male version of their fashion retail website, candidly entitled Mr Porter. Subtle advances like this in the world of men’s fashion demonstrate the growing market for menswear and its more serious presence in the industry. One small step for man, one giant leap for menswear. Is life without Is life really possible without Facebook? A recent survey of London students found that nearly 40% were being distracted by Facebook to the point where their studies were affected. Apparently, we’re not the only ones. A couple of universities in the US have experimented with social media bans, with some alarming results. In a post-Facebook world, it seems we would suddenly set about swapping photos with nearby strangers. At Harrisburg University, within 24 hours of a Facebook ban, a photo-swapping society had been set up, where random students could hand over their photos to relative strangers, stare, comment, and then hand them back. They also set up a diversity society, suggesting that life without Facebook meant having to make do with boring neighbours. But Harrisburg University’s students also found themselves less stressed. They started reading more and spent more time together. Without Facebook, we’d get more work done. A quarter of Harrisburg students found it easier to concentrate after the ban, and a fifth claimed to do more homework, according to Christian Science Monitor. ? Facebook really possible? Nyasha Madavo Another university that experimented with a Facebook ban was the University of Maryland in the US. Students were banned from using social media, phones and iPods, with devastating consequences. Some students reported withdrawal symptoms similar to those of drug addicts. “I noticed physically, that I began to fidget”, said one student. Another stated “When sitting in the library reading my textbook, I actually did hear some vibrations in my head”. But there were some upsides. Apparently, not having Facebook or iPods forces us to engage with others. A student reported: “It was actually somewhat peaceful. Walking to class all day was different.... [I looked] around more at other people and actually [paid] attention to what was going on around me.” So if you want to avoid Facebook, how can it be done? A Kent-based company has created an application for students to limit time spent on Facebook, aptly called iFreeFace. You can set your own time limits or block Facebook to study. Alternatively, you could go completely cold turkey and delete your Facebook account. But as Harrisburg’s experiment proves, things can get a little crazy. The Founder is looking for new writers Simply write an article of no more than 700 words and send it to features@thefounder.co.uk before Monday 28th February
Page 1 and 2: Nicholas Blazenby Erection Special
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