Am J Psychiatry 1979; 136:1026-1030
Copyright © 1979 by American Psychiatric Association
Denial and affirmation in illness and health
AR Beisser
Recent research has shown that patients with life-threatening illnesses
have improved chances of survival if, rather than recognizing the serious
consequences of their illness, they employ the psychological defense
mechanism of denial. Reexamination of these data suggests that unexamined
psychological factors which promote a positive view of health are of equal
or greater importance in explaining those results. Health care
professionals, concerned with diagnosis and treatment, primarily focus
attention on illness and its denial or recognition. To expand this
perspective to include factors for health, the author presents a four-cell
paradigm of illness, health, denial, and affirmation. The paradigm is
illustrated with examples of common problems in medical care.
