What is False Hope?" Many physicians are concerned about giving their patients “false hope.” Norman Cousins proposes that doctors should be equally concerned about giving people “false fears.” He encouraged people to, “Accept the diagnosis, but deny the verdict.” The fact is that no matter how serious the illness or how close to death, someone has fully recovered. It is one thing to give a life-threatening diagnosis, or even to say that there is nothing more a particular physician/specialist can do within his or her expertise. But it is quite another matter to say something is incurable or that someone will definitely die within a certain time period. Many physicians understand this and will actually say to patients that they don’t have a crystal ball and can’t predict their outcome. It makes more sense to talk about the challenge rather than the fatal outcome, and that the physician and patient are both going to do everything they can to increase the odds. Dr. Patricia Norris made this astute comment in this regard in 1986 in the journal of Biofeedback and Self-regulation: Some belief, hope, and confidence that what one is attempting is possible, even though not guaranteed, is essential. To learn to dive, tumble, win a swim meet, or eliminate a wart or tumor, one must believe it is possible. Suppose an athlete trying out for the Olympics was told by a coach, “Don’t get your expectations up, I don’t want you to have any false hopes. Don’t forget, only one person can get a gold medal, and most people won’t even make it past the trials. The chances of you winning, or even getting to the Olympics at all, are pretty remote.” It’s not hard to imagine what the effects of such “realism” would be on achievement. This is, again, where many physicians understand that one’s beliefs or “a strong will to live” can make a difference and would not risk creating yet another serious problem by dashing all hope. Depression is a common result of a serious diagnosis, and can compromise the immune system. How the doctor communicates information can be lethal. There are no guarantees at this time, only probabilities. Even a positive outlook is no guarantee. But to take one’s hope away because it isn’t realistic (as Dr. Norris explained in the above citation) is to risk creating hopelessness and pessimism. Is this advisable? Someone much wiser than I once said, “Without hope people perish.”
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 18:24:10 +0000
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