> READING PASSAGE 3 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. 7 HYPOCHONDRIA 4 Every doctor recognizes them. The man who discovars a bruise on his thigh and becomes convinced that it is leukemia, The woman who has suffered from hoartbum all her life but after reading about esophageal cancer has no question that she has it. They make froquent doctor's appointments, demand unnecessary tests and can drive their frionds and relatives — not to mention their physicians — to distraction with a seemingly endless search for reassurance. By some estimates, they may be responsible for 10 to 20 per cont of the United States's staggering annual health care costs. Yet how we deal with hypochondria, a disorder that afflicts one of every twenty Americans who visit doctors, has boon one ofthe most stubborn puzzles in medicine Where the patient sees piysicaliliness the doctor saas 2 psychological problem, and frustration rules on both sides, Recently, however, there as been a break in the impasse. New treatment statagies ae aftering the fist hope since the ancient Greeks recognized hypochondtia 24 centuries ago. Cognitive thorapy, researchers report, helps hypochondriacal patients evaluate and change thair distorted thoughts about ilinass. After six 90- minute therapy sessions, one study found, 5 percent of the 102 participants were better abie to do errands, | tive and engage in socal activities. In the study, the ations, whose ization on illness had reat inteferod with their ives, did not see their symptoms disappear, but they di lean to pay loss attotion to them. “The hope is that with effective treatment, a diagnasis of hypochondria will become a more acceptable diagnasis and less a laughing matter or @ cause for embarrassment,” said Or Arthur J Barsky, director of psychiatric research at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He s the lead author ofthe study on cognitive ‘therapy, which appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association ‘An official diagnosis of hypochondria, according to the ‘American Psychiatric Association, is reserved for patients whose fears that they have a serious disease persist for atleast six months and continue oven after doctors have reassured them that they are health. Researchers have found that hypochandria, which affects men end women equally, seems more likely to ‘develop in poople who have certain personality traits. The neurotic, the self-critical, the introverted and the narcissistic appear particularly prone to hypochondriacal fears, said Dr Michael Holfield, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, ‘Sometimes patients become so fearful about their ‘imagined illness thet they exacerbate the symptoms, ‘A headache that you believe is due toa brain tumor is alot worse than a headache you believe is due to eyestrain, Or Barsky said. In the most extreme cases, patients can Worry to the point where they develop delusions or become almost entirely disabled by fer. The ancient Greeks used the word ‘hypochondria’ to describe symptoms of digestive discomfort, combined with molancholy, that they thought originated in the ‘organs of the hypochondrium, the region under the rib cage. The term applied only to men. In women, unexplained symptoms were attributed to hysteria, resulting from @ misalignment ofthe uterus. ‘This View prveiled for 2,000 years, until the 17* contury, when symptoms of hypochondiia ~ digestive trouble, pain, convulsions, shortness of breath end heart Palpitations — were seen as arising from the brain, set off by fear, grist and other feelings. Thomas Sydenham, an English physician, said that hypochondra in men and women should be considered the same affiction. Yet ‘doctors could offer litle inthe way of treatment beyond the traditional strategies of bloodletting, sweating and Inducing vomiting, In the 18* century, George Cheyne, a Scottish physician, eseribed hypochondria as ‘the English malady’, noting that it oocured maint in people of high intelligence and ‘members ofthe upper class, and was caused by maist ar, ‘variable weather, heavy food and sedentary living. But traditional treatments still prevailed. in the 19° century, hypochrandia was viewed as melancholia, aterm that cored everything fom slight hypersonstivity to physical symptoms, delusions and suicidal tendencies. Treatment bocame more humane: spa visits for exercise, fresh ait, rutitious food and relaxation, But some physicians stil relied on old methods, including potions and elixirs. In the 20" century, Freud recognized that hypochondria had both psychological and physical properties. Some doctors tried hypnosis and later pyschoanaiysis to help patients uncover the psychological roots of their Problem. But other doctors held that the suffering of hypochondriacs must be ‘ll in their heads’ Today, just mentioning the word hypochondria ta a patient, Or Barsky said, can cause trouble, That comes ‘across as, “You'e telling me I'm a faker, a malingerer, ‘that its all in my head,’ ho said, ‘ts tremendously Delorative.’ Some experts have suggested that doctors ‘drop the word altogather, substituting the term ‘hoalth anxiety, which has fewer negative connotations. Practice test 101 = ooACADEMIC READING, READING PASSAGE 3] Questions 27-30 ‘o the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? Write your answer next to 27-30. TRUE if the statement agrees with the information | FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this | 27 Some illnesses are more commonly claimed by hypochondriacs than other illnesses. 28 The number of people suffering from hypochondria in the US has been rising. sesessns 29° Some patients in the study ceased to suffer from hypochondria after sessions. 30 Some sufferers may actually experience more pain because of their hypochondria, nen ‘Questions 31-34 Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers next to 31-36. Hypochendria — the current situation ¢ A new treatment has emerged which seems to be a breakthrough. This is called { 31 and it helps sufferers to deal with their hypochondria. { The American Psychiatric Association states that to be officially considered to be suffering} ‘ from hypochondria,a patient must have the symptoms fora minimum of 32. Research indicates that the condition tends to affect people with particular 33 j Some patents distike the term ‘rypochondia’ and some experts recommend that the \ condition is referred to as 34 instead. ? ‘Questions 35-40 Classify the following facts about hypochondria as being true before the 17" century in the 179 century in the 18° century in the 19° century in the 20" century Write the correct letter, A-E next to 35-60. monee 35. It was believed to affect a certain section of society in particular. 36. There was disagreement among doctors on the cause of it. 37. It was considered to be caused by certain emotions. 38 The word was not used for everyone who had the same condition. 39° Both new and traditional treatments were in use. } NB You me ws ny ater mae ton once | 40 Lack of exercise was identified as a contributory factor. | 102 Practice test