Explaining the diagnosis
| Task | Suggested phrases |
|---|---|
| Make a positive diagnosis | These symptoms and test results tell us you have fibromyalgia / non-cardiac chest pain / persistent physical symptoms etc (depending on the presentation). |
| Explain it is common and give them hope about treatment | In my clinic around one in five people I see have problems similar to yours. People can, and do, get better with time. There are things we can work on and treatments that can help. |
| Tell them you believe them | Your symptoms are real, and I believe you. It is normal to have real physical symptoms that don't show up on blood tests. |
| Tell them what we know about persistent physical symptoms and be honest about what we don't know | These conditions tend to have many causes. We know there are many risk factors that make people more likely to have these problems. |
| Say something about what we do know of the biology and mind–body interaction | We know there are clear physical factors that are part of this. For example, infections or illnesses can often be the trigger. But the symptoms can keep going even when the infection/virus is long gone. We know there can be physiological changes; sleep rhythms are often affected and there can be hormonal changes. The mind and the body work together, particularly in complex conditions like these. We can't think about one without the other. For example, when we are anxious our heart beats faster and we can feel anxiety physically in our stomachs. |