Chernobyl and Psychosomatic Illness

[VERNIG.PETER@FORUM.VA.GOV]

Radsafeters,
I was caught unawares by the 60 Minutes coverage of chernobyl.  By what I
saw, last part and what my wife said it was pretty good considering the
general run of reporting of things nuclear.  But I was taken by a person
I took to be a physician, possibly a psychatirist, and also European
but I'n not sure of either.  What the man said was the illnesses that many
residents of the area were reporting were not psychosomatic that they
were real stress and fear induced symptoms.  Did anybody else catch that?
Isn't a psychosomatic illness real, resulting from fear and stress,
whether rational or irrational.  Someone who is a hypochondriac imagines
symptoms based on his or her exposure to information about illnesses.  That
person is not sick just worried.  Someone who has a psychosomatic illness
is sick, has real symptoms that result from anxiety, fear, or stress or
some combination.  The classic example is ulcers.  Stress related 
symptom which can sometimes be cleared up by illiminating or greatly
reducing stress.
 
Am I wrong or is radiation still getting a bum wrap?  If the fear of
adverse health affects, and the stress of disruption of your life
by evacuation, etc. caused real symptoms, which I do not for an instant
doubt they did, why isn't that illness called psychosomatic?  What is 
different about it that it should be callen not psychosomatic?  
 
Just wondering?
 
Peter G. Vernig, VA Medical Center, Denver, vernig.peter@forum.va.gov
 
This message hsa been reviewed by no one and represents only my own 
opinion,
not that of Denver VAMC, Dept. Veterans Affairs, or U.S. Government.