Articles on Illness | Page 2 of 3 | Dr. John Diamond

“The Painting’s Title and the Patient’s Diagnosis”

“What’s the title of your painting?”, they ask me. Well, it’s like when I’m asked for a diagnosis. To me, the diagnosis is the sufferer’s name.

“Georg Groddeck and the Tao”

The great physician and psychoanalyst Georg Groddeck believed that in his unconscious was the patient's desire for disease – as well as for health. And he also believed that in his own unconscious was his desire for the patient's health to then actuate the patient's desire.

But what of the Tao – or whatever Groddeck would have called It? I'm sure, him being as he declared “wild,” he did so believe, but chose to not say lest he be deemed “too wild.”

“Spiritual Medicine”

Thanks to modern medical advances, the mechanical body marches on, but the spirit has died. As doctors, we must judge our results from quality of life.

“Aspiration Above Illness”

Like all diseases, the cause of cancer is multi-factorial, but, from my point of view, the central factor is always the loss of Aspiration

“The Disease Diathesis”

There is, I believe, a diathesis, a desire, a pre-disposition, for every major illness. And the true cure, and even more importantly the prevention, will come about only when this is acknowledged and overcome.

“The Inner Flame”

The start of all illness is the loss of the inherent will to be well. In fact, I believe that the illness itself is this loss of the will to be well, just differently manifested depending on various lesser etiological factors.

“The Fellow Traveler”

There is a syndrome I call The Fellow Traveler. It can be applied to any situation, any illness, any problem and involves the person who is the closest and usually caring for the patient.

Video: Pain vs. Hurt

Australia’s greatest psychiatrist, Ainslie Meares (1910-86), asked the wise man of Kathmandu, “Do you feel pain?” He said, “Of course I do, but it doesn’t hurt.” Dr. Diamond discusses how we too can live in this enlightened state.

See more videos by Dr Diamond on his YouTube channel.

“A Tribute to Dr. Louis Cholden”

Louis Cholden died at the age of thirty-eight in an automobile accident. He had been on his way to moderate a panel of the 1956 convention of the American Psychiatric Association. The loss was ours, as he would have become one of the greatest leaders in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. His writings are among the mere handful in the field that truly proclaim love.

“The Wonder Drug”

Many years ago, I worked in the back wards of a psychiatric hospital. These housed the high-security, dangerous, quasi-murderous patients, and the wards were kept locked. The inmates were often there with court certificates because they had beaten people up, and far worse. Before I worked on those wards, the doctors went in only when a flag was raised by the nurses to signal that it was safe. I decided that if it was safe enough for the nurses, it must be the same for the doctors. So I started going in frequently.