Interfacing with the Doctor Within

How to Use ChatGPT to Help Manage Daily Life with Chronic Illness

2026-07-07T10:01:04.520-05:00

Living with a chronic illness is about much more than managing symptoms.

It is about managing life.

Every day may involve dozens of decisions:

How much energy do I have today?
What should I do first?
Can I keep today's appointments?
Should I exercise or rest?
What should I eat?
Do I need to ask for help?
Which symptoms should I monitor?
What can wait until tomorrow?

Unlike many acute illnesses, chronic conditions are often managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—mostly by the person living with their conditions.

While healthcare professionals play an essential role in diagnosing, treating, and monitoring chronic conditions, much of the day-to-day management happens outside the clinic.

This article explores how ChatGPT may help you organize your life, simplify decisions, solve everyday problems, improve communication, and support a higher quality of life while living with chronic illness.

ChatGPT is not a substitute for professional medical care.

However, it may serve as a valuable whole-person thinking partner between appointments.

Chronic Illness Is a Whole-Person Experience

A chronic illness rarely affects just one organ.

It often influences:

physical health
sleep
energy
emotions
stress
relationships
family life
work or school
finances
concentration
memory
confidence
independence
quality of life

Many people also live with more than one chronic condition (multimorbidity), making daily life even more complex.

Rather than looking at each problem separately, ChatGPT may help you organize the bigger picture and identify patterns across your health, lifestyle, and daily routines.

Getting Started

Go to:

👉 https://chat.openai.com

One advantage of ChatGPT is that it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because ChatGPT is available 24/7, it may help you organize information, identify patterns, improve communication, reduce decision fatigue, better understand your health journey, and cope with the physical, emotional, social, and practical challenges that often accompany chronic illness—especially during difficult moments and between appointments.

You can use either:

the free version
or the paid version if desired.

Where ChatGPT May Help

ChatGPT may help you:

organize your day
prioritize tasks
conserve energy
pace activities
reduce decision fatigue
prepare for appointments
simplify complex problems
organize health information
improve communication
track symptoms
create routines
help solve everyday challenges
reduce information clutter
identify patterns
improve quality of life

The goal is not simply managing illness.

The goal is living as well as possible despite it.

Living One Day at a Time

Some days you may feel capable.

Other days simply getting dressed may feel like an accomplishment.

ChatGPT may help you decide:

what truly needs attention today
what can wait
what can be delegated
what might make today easier

Example prompt:

"Given my energy today, help me decide what matters most."

Managing Your Limited Energy

Many chronic illnesses involve limited physical or mental energy.

Instead of trying to do everything, ChatGPT may help you:

prioritize
pace yourself
avoid overdoing good days
prepare for difficult days
build sustainable routines

Example:

"Help me create a realistic plan that fits my energy level today."

Organizing Daily Life

Daily life may include:

medications
meals
appointments
errands
exercise
household chores
caregiving
work
finances
rest

Rather than trying to remember everything, ChatGPT may help organize your day into manageable pieces.

Solving Everyday Problems

Living with chronic illness often creates unexpected challenges.

Examples include:

traveling
grocery shopping
cooking
cleaning
social events
vacations
bad weather
transportation
flare planning

ChatGPT may help you think through practical solutions before problems become overwhelming.

Managing Information Clutter

Many people living with chronic illness become overwhelmed not only by symptoms but also by information.

Medical records, patient portals, medications, appointments, insurance, laboratory reports, and notes can quickly become difficult to manage.

ChatGPT may help organize information into clear summaries that are easier to understand and use.

Helping You Explore More Possibilities

Living with a chronic illness often means discovering what works best for you. ChatGPT may help you explore a wide range of approaches, including conventional medicine, lifestyle medicine, nutrition, rehabilitation, integrative and functional medicine, traditional healing practices, mind-body approaches, emerging research, and practical insights from the lived experiences of others.

It can help you compare ideas, understand the potential benefits and limitations of different approaches, organize what you learn, and identify options that may be worth exploring or discussing with your healthcare provider. The goal is not to recommend one path, but to help you make informed decisions and build the best possible quality of life.

Exploring More Possibilities Prompts

Treatment Options Prompt

"What evidence-informed treatment options are available for my condition? Compare their potential benefits, limitations, risks, and who they may be most appropriate for."

Lifestyle Medicine Prompt

"What lifestyle changes have the strongest evidence for helping people with my condition? Explain how each might help."

Integrative Medicine Prompt

"What integrative or complementary approaches have been studied for my condition? Which have the strongest evidence, and which have limited or conflicting evidence?"

Functional Medicine Prompt

"From a functional medicine perspective, what possible contributing factors might be worth discussing with my healthcare provider?"

Whole-Person Health Prompt

"Help me explore how sleep, nutrition, stress, physical activity, emotions, relationships, and other health conditions may be affecting my symptoms."

Traditional Healing Prompt

"How have different cultures or traditional healing systems approached this condition, and what does modern research say about those approaches?"

Emerging Research Prompt

"What are some promising areas of current research related to my condition? Which ideas appear most supported, and which remain experimental?"

Root Cause Exploration Prompt

"Help me explore possible contributing factors that might be influencing my symptoms. Organize them by the strength of current evidence and identify questions I should discuss with my healthcare provider."

Compare Approaches Prompt

"Compare conventional medicine, lifestyle medicine, integrative medicine, rehabilitation, and other approaches for managing my condition. What are the strengths and limitations of each?"

Multimorbidity Prompt

"How might my other chronic conditions be interacting with this one? Help me understand the whole-person picture rather than viewing each diagnosis separately."

Lived Experience Prompt

"What practical strategies have other people living with this condition found helpful for managing daily life? Separate personal experiences from scientific evidence."

Quality of Life Prompt

"Beyond treating the disease itself, what approaches may help improve my energy, sleep, mood, functioning, independence, and overall quality of life?"

Healthcare Discussion Prompt

"Based on everything we've discussed, help me create a list of evidence-informed questions and possible approaches to discuss with my healthcare provider."

Personalized Exploration Prompt

"Based on my symptoms, medical history, lifestyle, goals, and current treatments, what evidence-informed options might be most appropriate for me to learn more about?"

Learning From Others Living With the Same Condition

Some of the most practical ideas for living with a chronic illness come from people who are walking the same path.

Researchers conduct clinical trials to determine what is generally safe and effective for groups of people. But day-to-day living with a chronic illness often involves challenges that have never been formally studied—especially when someone has multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity), unusual symptom combinations, or a complex medical history.

People living with the same condition often develop practical strategies for managing everyday life, coping with symptoms, adapting routines, communicating with healthcare providers, navigating insurance, using assistive devices, or improving quality of life.

These shared experiences are called lived experience or anecdotal evidence. While they do not prove that an approach is safe or effective for everyone, they may introduce ideas, questions, or practical solutions that are worth learning more about or discussing with your healthcare provider.

ChatGPT may help you search for, organize, compare, and summarize these experiences from patient communities, support groups, discussion forums, research articles, nonprofit organizations, podcasts, blogs, and other reputable sources. It can also help distinguish between personal experiences, expert opinions, and scientific evidence.

Example Prompts

Finding Patient Experiences

"What practical strategies have people living with my condition found helpful for managing everyday life? Summarize the most common experiences, coping strategies, tips, and lessons learned from others living with this condition, including any important cautions or differing viewpoints."

Community Search Prompt

"Help me find reputable online communities, discussion forums, nonprofit organizations, and support groups where people discuss living with my condition."

Reddit Prompt

"Summarize common themes, practical tips, and recurring experiences shared by people with my condition on Reddit. Highlight areas where people have similar experiences, where opinions differ, and any important cautions or considerations."

Problem-Solving Prompt

"How have other people solved this specific problem while living with my condition?"

Prompt for Those with More than One Chronic Condition

"Find discussions from people who have all of my chronic conditions. What challenges do they commonly describe, and what practical strategies have they found helpful?"

Hope Prompt

"Find encouraging stories from people who have learned to live well despite having this condition. What helped them improve their quality of life?"

Questions to Ask Prompt

"Based on what patients commonly discuss, what questions might be worthwhile to ask my healthcare provider?"

Compare Evidence Prompt

"Compare what patients commonly report with what current medical research says. Where do they agree, where do they differ, and what remains uncertain?"

A Word of Caution

Not everything that helps one person will help another. Some suggestions shared online may be unsupported, outdated, or even unsafe. Before making significant changes to your medications, treatments, diet, supplements, or other aspects of your healthcare, discuss them with your healthcare provider. ChatGPT can help you explore possibilities and prepare informed questions, but important healthcare decisions should be made in partnership with qualified healthcare professionals.

Living With More Than One Chronic Condition

Many people manage several chronic conditions at once.

Sometimes one condition affects another.

For example:

poor sleep may worsen pain
pain may increase fatigue
fatigue may reduce activity
reduced activity may affect mood
stress may make coping more difficult

ChatGPT may help organize these interactions into a whole-person view rather than treating each condition separately.

Example prompt:

"Help me understand how my chronic conditions may be affecting one another and my daily life."

Preparing for Healthcare Appointments

Many people spend only a small amount of time with their healthcare providers.

ChatGPT may help you prepare by organizing:

symptom changes
questions
medication updates
treatment responses
concerns
quality-of-life issues

This may help you make better use of your appointment time.

💬 Prompts Are Just the Beginning

You don't need perfect wording right away.

👉 Prompts are conversation starters.

You can follow up with:

Can you simplify this?

Can you organize this differently?

Can you break this into smaller steps?

Can you help me prioritize?

Can you make this more realistic?

Can you help me solve this problem?

The best results often come from an ongoing conversation rather than a single prompt.

When Daily Life Becomes Too Much

Everyone has difficult days.

During flares, setbacks, poor sleep, or stressful periods, everyday life may suddenly become much harder.

What To Do Prompt

"Everything feels like too much today. Help me identify the three most important things I need to do."

What Not To Do Prompt

"What are common mistakes people make when trying to push through a difficult day with chronic illness?"

Simplify My Day Prompt

"Help me simplify today's schedule based on my current energy level."

Problem-Solving Prompt

"Help me think through this problem one step at a time."

Hope Prompt

"Help me focus on what I can still do today instead of everything I can't."

Living Well With Chronic Illness

Remember, ChatGPT cannot determine how your conditions are related, diagnose new problems, or replace your healthcare providers. Its role is to help you organize information, identify possible patterns, explore evidence-informed approaches, and prepare for more informed discussions with your healthcare team.

While healthcare professionals play an essential role in diagnosing, treating, and monitoring chronic conditions, much of the day-to-day management happens outside the clinic. The choices you make about sleep, nutrition, activity, stress, medications, symptom tracking, communication, daily routines, relationships, and self-care often have a significant impact on your health and quality of life.

Because ChatGPT is available 24/7, it may help you make informed decisions, stay organized, solve everyday problems, develop practical coping strategies, and support you in living the healthiest, most meaningful life possible while managing your chronic condition.

Important Reminder About AI

ChatGPT can sometimes:

make mistakes
misunderstand information
provide incomplete answers
sound more confident than it should

Always verify important medical information with your healthcare provider before making significant health decisions.

Human Support Still Matters

Living with chronic illness should not be a solo journey.

Your support team may include:

healthcare providers
family
friends
caregivers
therapists
counselors
patient advocates
support groups

Sometimes asking for help is one of the healthiest decisions you can make.

Final Thought

Living with chronic illness isn't just about surviving.

It's about building a life that is meaningful, manageable, and fulfilling despite ongoing health challenges.

Because ChatGPT is available 24/7, it may help you simplify daily life, stay organized, solve problems, improve communication, reduce decision fatigue, identify patterns, and cope with the physical, emotional, social, and practical challenges that often accompany chronic illness.

While it cannot remove your illness, it may help reduce some of the burden of living with it—and sometimes that can make all the difference.

For More Information Click HERE

Join the Conversation

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope it gave you a few practical ideas that make living with chronic illness a little easier.

If you have a comment, question, suggestion, or another perspective, I'd love to hear from you. If there's a topic you'd like me to write about or a way I can make future articles more helpful, please let me know.

If you found this article useful, please consider liking it, commenting on it, and sharing it with someone who might also benefit.

Together, we can help more people discover practical ways to use AI to better understand their health, improve their quality of life, and live well despite the challenges of chronic illness.

Thanks to GenAI for help in making this article.

Disclaimer – For informational purposes only. This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Additional Disclaimers here:

https://sites.google.com/site/tgideas/ideas-for-products-or-services/disclaimer?authuser=0

My Amazon Author Page

https://www.amazon.com/author/tomgarz

My Custom GPT's so far…

Make Sense of My Health: Chronic Symptom Patterns

https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69fa4cd970448191ace058c5d4ca15f2-make-sense-of-my-health

How to Use ChatGPT as a Between-Visit Health Companion

2026-03-28T16:17:00.000-05:00

A simple way to review your week, notice patterns, and identify small improvements between appointments

Most health struggles do not happen in the exam room.

They happen in everyday life.

They happen on the hard mornings, the restless nights, the stressful afternoons, the confusing days when something feels off, and the moments when you wonder whether anything is getting better at all.

That is why the time between visits matters so much.

For many people, that in-between time is filled with questions like these:

Why was this week harder than last week?
Why am I so tired again?
What made things better on Tuesday but worse on Thursday?
Is stress affecting my body more than I realized?
What should I even tell my doctor next time?

By the time the next appointment comes, a lot of the details are blurry. The visit is short. Important patterns are forgotten. The conversation stays general. And people leave feeling like the real story of their week never got fully told.

That is where ChatGPT can be useful.

Not as a doctor.
Not as a diagnosis tool.
Not as a replacement for care.

But as a between-visit health companion that helps you reflect, organize, and think more clearly about what has been happening in your body, mind, and daily life.

Go to:
https://chat.openai.com

Then start with this prompt:

“Act as a health reflection partner. Help me review my week and identify improvements.”

That simple prompt can open a very useful conversation.

Why this can help

Many people are living with a mix of physical symptoms, emotional strain, daily responsibilities, sleep issues, financial pressure, and uncertainty. These things often interact.

A difficult week may not be caused by just one thing.

It may be a mix of:

poor sleep
pain
stress
overdoing it
conflict
loneliness
too little movement
too much pressure
skipped routines
lack of recovery time

When life and health interact like this, it is easy to miss the pattern while you are in the middle of it.

ChatGPT can help by slowing the process down and turning a vague week into something more organized and visible.

It can help you:

review what happened
sort out what stood out
notice possible patterns
reduce mental load
identify one or two realistic improvements
prepare a clearer summary for a doctor, therapist, or other healthcare provider

That is what makes it useful between visits.

What this is really doing

This is not just a journaling exercise.

It is helping you:

pause and reflect
make sense of your week
connect symptoms with daily life
notice what may be helping or hurting
feel less scattered
carry less in your head
make small adjustments sooner instead of waiting until things get much worse

Over time, this kind of reflection can help people become more aware of their routines, strain, warning signs, and patterns. It may also support better follow-through with healthy habits and healthcare conversations.

That does not mean ChatGPT can predict, diagnose, or prevent disease.

It means it can help people stay more engaged, more observant, and more organized in the everyday work of taking care of themselves.

The simplest way to use it

You do not need a perfect health log.

You do not need medical language.

You do not need to know exactly what is wrong.

You just need to describe your week in plain language.

For example:

“I felt more tired than usual this week. I slept badly three nights. I had more pain after doing too much on Wednesday. I was also stressed about money and skipped my usual walk.”

That is enough to begin.

From there, ChatGPT can help you review the week step by step.

A practical weekly process

Step 1: Describe the week simply

Start with a short summary in ordinary language.

You might mention:

energy
sleep
pain or symptoms
appetite
mood
stress
activity
responsibilities
anything unusual

You do not need to include everything. Just say what stands out.

Example:

“This week I felt very tired in the mornings, had better energy in the afternoon, felt tense most days, slept poorly twice, and had more symptoms after running errands.”

Step 2: Let ChatGPT help you review it

After your first message, ChatGPT may ask questions such as:

Which days were better or worse?
Did anything change in your routine?
How did sleep affect the next day?
Was stress higher this week?
Did activity help, hurt, or vary?

Answer briefly and honestly. Short answers are fine.

The goal is not to create a perfect record. The goal is to make the week clearer.

Step 3: Look for patterns

This is where the conversation becomes especially helpful.

Patterns might include:

poor sleep followed by worse symptoms
stress followed by more tension or fatigue
too much activity followed by a flare-up
isolation followed by lower mood
a steady routine followed by a slightly better day

Sometimes the pattern is not dramatic. Sometimes it is subtle.

Even noticing that something helps “a little” is useful.

Step 4: Ask for one or two small improvements

Once the week is clearer, ask:

“What is one small thing I could try next week?”
“What small change seems most realistic?”
“Can you suggest a low-effort improvement based on this week?”

This matters because people often do not need a huge new plan. They need one doable step.

Examples:

go to bed 20 minutes earlier
reduce one unnecessary task
take a 5-minute walk after lunch
drink water earlier in the day
pause before saying yes to too much
write down symptoms the day they happen
prepare one question for the next appointment

Small steps are often more useful than ambitious ones.

Step 5: Ask for a summary you can save or share

You can say:

“Please summarize this week clearly.”
“Turn this into a short note for my doctor.”
“Help me list the main patterns from this week.”
“What should I mention at my next appointment?”

This can turn a messy week into something structured and easier to communicate.

A low-energy version

Some weeks, even reflecting feels like too much.

That is okay.

Here is a very simple version:

“I don’t have much energy. Can you help me quickly review my week and pick one small thing to improve?”

That is enough.

You can then give just a few lines, such as:

“I was very tired, stressed, slept badly, and fell behind this week.”

ChatGPT can help from there.

A 2-minute version

If you want something even faster, use this:

“Summarize this week in simple terms and suggest one small improvement.”

Then type two or three sentences about your week.

This is especially good for people who are tired, busy, discouraged, or not used to tracking things.

A more detailed version

On weeks when you want a deeper review, you can say:

“Act as a health reflection partner. Help me review my week across symptoms, sleep, energy, stress, emotions, daily responsibilities, and anything else that may be affecting how I feel.”

This helps bring in the full picture.

Because health is rarely just physical.

Why the full picture matters

A useful review includes more than symptoms.

It can include:

sleep quality
fatigue
pain or discomfort
digestion
mood
stress
thought patterns
conflict
loneliness
work or caregiving strain
finances
overcommitment
routine changes
physical activity
recovery time

This reflects a whole-person view of health.

Your body, mind, and life circumstances affect one another.

A hard week may not be “just stress.”
A symptom flare may not be “just physical.”
A low mood may not be separate from pain, poor sleep, or strain at home.

ChatGPT can help you look at these layers together.

Examples

Here are a few examples of how someone might use this.

Example 1: The person who feels worse but does not know why

A person says:

“I feel like I am getting worse, but I can’t explain it.”

After reviewing the week, they realize:

sleep got worse
stress was higher
they skipped meals
they pushed too hard on two good days
they had no real downtime

Now the week makes more sense.

That does not solve everything, but it gives the person a clearer starting point.

Example 2: The person who forgets everything by appointment day

A person says:

“I know I had some bad days this week, but I can never remember the details when I see the doctor.”

After the conversation, they have:

a short weekly summary
a list of symptoms
what seemed to trigger them
what helped
a couple of questions to bring up

Now the appointment has better material to work with.

Example 3: The person with very little energy

A person says:

“I’m too tired to do much. Please help me review my week simply.”

That person does not need a complicated system.

They may only need:

one short check-in
one useful insight
one small improvement
one summary to save

That still has value.

Useful follow-up prompts

The prompts are conversation starters. You can keep going, ask follow-up questions, and take the conversation as deep as needed.

Here are some useful follow-ups:

“What stands out most from this week?”
“What possible patterns do you notice?”
“What may have made things worse?”
“What may have helped, even a little?”
“What is one realistic improvement for next week?”
“Can you help me make that improvement simpler?”
“What should I keep an eye on next week?”
“Please summarize this in plain language.”
“Can you turn this into a short note for my doctor?”
“Help me compare this week to last week.”

“Help me create a simple weekly check-in template.”

A simple weekly template

If you want more structure, you can paste this:

“Help me review my week using these headings: symptoms, energy, sleep, mood, stress, daily responsibilities, what helped, what made things worse, and one small improvement for next week.”

That gives the conversation an easy shape.

How this can help with prevention-oriented self-care

This can also have a quiet long-term value.

Many health problems get worse gradually, not all at once. People often miss early patterns because life is busy, memory is imperfect, and symptoms can blend into the background.

A weekly reflection habit can help people stay more aware of things like:

sleep disruption
increasing fatigue
rising stress
changes in routine
reduced activity
mood changes
lapses in follow-through
other warning signs that deserve attention

ChatGPT is not a prevention tool by itself.

But it can help people stay more consistent with the kinds of everyday habits and observations that support long-term health.

That makes it useful not just when someone is already struggling, but also as a way to stay more engaged with their health over time.

How to use this with a doctor or therapist

One of the best uses of this method is to improve communication with professionals.

Instead of saying:

“I don’t know, I just haven’t felt right.”

You may be able to say:

“My sleep was worse on three nights and the next days were harder.”
“I noticed more symptoms after overdoing it.”
“Stress and poor routine seemed to affect me more this week.”
“These are the main things that stood out.”
“These are my two questions for the visit.”

That can make appointments more focused and more useful.

When relevant, share your summaries with:

doctors
therapists
healthcare providers
caregivers helping you stay organized

This is often where ChatGPT adds the most value: turning lived experience into something easier to discuss.

What to watch out for

This kind of weekly review can be helpful, but it also has limits.

Remember:

ChatGPT can miss things
it may oversimplify
it may suggest patterns that are not actually important
it does not know your full medical history unless you tell it
it is not a substitute for professional judgment

Use it as a reflection partner, not as final authority.

If you notice new, severe, rapidly worsening, or concerning symptoms, seek medical care rather than relying on ChatGPT.

How often to do this

Weekly is a good starting point for most people.

It is frequent enough to catch patterns, but not so frequent that it becomes another burden.

A simple rhythm could be:

once each week
the same day each week if possible
five to ten minutes
more only if helpful

This is a process. Things change. You can refine the check-in over time.

Some weeks you may want a deep review. Other weeks you may want the 2-minute version.

Both count.

What makes this most helpful

The greatest value does not come from doing this perfectly.

It comes from doing it simply and consistently.

This works best when it helps you:

feel less lost
feel less alone with your thoughts
notice more than you noticed before
carry less mental load
make one useful adjustment
show up more prepared for care

That is enough.

A gentle way to begin

If you want to start today, use this exact prompt:

“Act as a health reflection partner. Help me review my week and identify improvements.”

Then write whatever comes to mind about your week.

Even a few honest sentences can lead to helpful clarity.

You do not need to have everything figured out first.

Final thought

Most people are trying to manage health in the middle of real life.

That means they are dealing not just with symptoms, but also with fatigue, pressure, responsibilities, emotions, and uncertainty.

A between-visit health companion cannot solve everything.

But it can help you pause, reflect, organize what is happening, and take one step in a better direction.

And sometimes that is exactly what is needed.

Thanks to GenAI for help in making this article.

Disclaimer - For informational purposes only. This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider. Additional Disclaimers here:
https://sites.google.com/site/tgideas/ideas-for-products-or-services/disclaimer?authuser=0

My Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/author/tomgarz

How to Use ChatGPT as a Biopsychosocial (BPS) Reflection Coach

2026-02-28T10:29:00.003-06:00

When You’re Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

If you live with chronic symptoms — pain, fatigue, anxiety, autoimmune flares, sleep problems, unexplained issues — you may feel like you’ve tried everything.

Doctors.
Specialists.
Tests.
Google.
Supplements.
More tests.

And yet…

You’re still not well.

One reason chronic conditions are so hard is this:

They rarely live in just one system.

They live in the interaction between:

Biology (body, inflammation, hormones, nervous system)
Psychology (stress, fear, beliefs, coping)
Social factors (relationships, work, finances, support, isolation)

This is summarized in the Biopsychosocial (BPS) model.

And you can use ChatGPT to help you think through your situation using this lens.

Not for diagnosis.

Not to replace your doctor.

But to organize your life clearly — and reduce chaos.

What Is a BPS Reflection Coach?

A BPS reflection coach helps you:

• Organize symptoms
• Notice patterns
• Reduce catastrophizing
• Avoid minimizing real concerns
• Separate urgent issues from long-term ones
• Prepare for medical visits
• Identify manageable next steps

It helps you think clearly when you feel overwhelmed.

How to Set It Up

Open ChatGPT here:
https://chat.openai.com/

Paste this prompt:

“Act as a structured Biopsychosocial (BPS) reflection coach.

Before we dive in, first ask me this question and wait for my answer:

‘Before we begin, I need to check on your immediate safety. Are you currently in any physical danger, experiencing a medical emergency, or having thoughts of self-harm?’

Do not continue until I respond.

If I answer yes or indicate urgent risk, clearly instruct me to seek immediate professional or emergency help.

If I answer no, then continue as follows:

You are not a doctor. You do not diagnose or prescribe.

Help me organize my situation across biological, psychological, and social domains. Ask one question at a time. Screen for urgent red flags throughout the conversation. Help me reduce both catastrophizing and minimization. Help me identify small, practical next steps and prepare for conversations with healthcare professionals if needed.”

Then begin.

What It Will Do

A good BPS session usually explores:

1️ Biological

Sleep
Pain levels
Fatigue
Medication effects
Activity tolerance
Nutrition
Hormonal factors
Medical diagnoses

2️ Psychological

Worry patterns
Fear of symptoms
Mood
Grief
Catastrophic thoughts
Burnout
Motivation

3️ Social / Environmental

Work stress
Financial strain
Caregiving burden
Relationship tension
Isolation
Access to care

Most chronic illness lives in the overlap.

Why This Helps

When everything feels like “too much,” the brain goes into survival mode.

You either:
• Panic
or
• Shut down

The BPS approach creates structure.

Structure lowers threat.

Lower threat lowers nervous system activation.

Lower activation often reduces symptom intensity.

Not magically.

But meaningfully.

Example Prompts You Can Use

If you feel overwhelmed:

“Help me sort out what is biological vs stress-driven vs situational.”

If you’re afraid:

“Help me think through this without catastrophizing but without minimizing either.”

If you’re stuck:

“Help me identify one small stabilizing action I can take this week.”

If you have multiple conditions:

“Help me organize how these conditions might interact across BPS domains.”

If preparing for a doctor:

“Help me summarize my main concerns clearly in one page.”

Important: Check Medical Causes First

If you have new, severe, or unexplained symptoms:

Chest pain
Neurological changes
Breathing problems
Sudden weakness
Severe depression
Suicidal thoughts

Seek medical care first.

ChatGPT is a reflection tool — not a diagnostic system.

And ongoing care with a healthcare professional is essential for safe management of chronic illness.

How This Differs from “Dr. Google”

Google gives you lists. - A BPS reflection session gives you structure.

Google might amplify fear. - A structured reflection reduces chaos.

Google fragments. - BPS organizes.

The Goal Is Not Perfection

The goal is:

Clarity
Stability
Small steps
Prepared medical conversations
Reduced emotional amplification

Over time, this changes how you experience illness.

A Simple Weekly BPS Check-In

You can even do this once a week:

“Run a weekly BPS check-in with me. Ask about sleep, pain, stress, relationships, and function. Help me see patterns.”

Patterns lead to power.

Final Thought

Many people with chronic illness feel invisible.

A BPS reflection coach helps you feel heard — even before your next appointment.

And when you feel heard, you think better.

When you think better, you act better.

When you act better, stability increases.

Not instantly.

But steadily.

Biopsychosocial Chronic

Thanks to GenAI for help in making this article.

Disclaimer - For informational purposes only. This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider. Additional Disclaimers here.

My Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/author/tomgarz

Experience my journey using Generative AI, like Google Bard/Gemini, to craft a Patient Summary for an upcoming doctor visit. Witness how this innovative approach revolutionized doctor-patient communication and empowered me as a patient. Join me as I share insights into this experience and envision the potential of AI in shaping the future of healthcare.

2024-02-23T17:10:00.005-06:00

https://pagingdrwithin.blogspot.com/2024/02/how-to-use-generative-ai-eg-google.html

"Emotion Sensing Technlogy" Improves Diagnosis and Treatment - Looking at the Big Picture

2018-12-14T08:50:00.000-06:00

Healthcare is beginning to use Emotion (Stress) Sensing Devices to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment.

This makes sense since:

It is well known that Emotional Stress causes and/or aggravates Physical and/or Mental Symptoms.

It is also well known that Emotional Stress is directly proportional to Pain.

We now have Emotion Sensing Technology, even some that are Wearable.

(See References at the very end of this article)

Some examples are below. Some are in actual use and some future. Click links to see full article.

GSR and HRV: its application in clinical diagnosis - IEEE Conference ...
Monitoring Stress and Heart Health with a Phone and Wearable ....
Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being - Harvard Health ...
Wearable devices could diagnose illness as it emerges | School of ...
Analysis of HRV signal for disease diagnosis - IEEE Conference ...
Heart rate variability in gastroenterological diagnosis - IEEE Xplore
Fetal distress diagnosis using heart rate variability analysis: Design of ...
Automatic Prediction of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events ...
Detecting Pain in Infants and Non-Responsive Patients
Did You Know that Your Emotional “Hot Buttons” Could Be Causing Your Bad Health?
An Extraordinary Science Fair Project
Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”?
What is Really Causing You to Be Sick All the Time?
As a Healthcare Professional, Are You Checking All the Vital Signs to Evaluate Total Patient Condition?

"My research focuses on the relationship between wearable technologies, health diagnosis, human behavior, environment factors and feedback. This includes methods and means of assessment and diagnosis of mental and physical health disorders, coupled with machine learning implemented through wearable technologies. The Emotion Sensing System provides a framework to understand how our emotion state can be sensed and learned across environments. This system was inspired by the work of Rosalind Picard and Rana El Kaliouby and references the emotion sensing wearable, emotion analytics and other API's to create a Digital Emotional + Environmental Profile (de+ep). The goal of my research is to explore the relationship between human behavior and affective computing across environments (home, car, public, etc.). The creation of the digital profile may interact with the emotion sensing system through different lenses/filters...."

"Remote emotions detection is possible as well. One of the devices created at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory emits radio signals that reflect off a person's front and back body. By measuring heartbeat and breathing, the device can accurately detect emotional reactions. Such remote sensing technologies could be used to diagnose or track conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as for non-invasive health monitoring and diagnosis of heart conditions...."

"It is also time to bring these tools into clinical practice, believes Dr. Erik Viirre, a San Diego neurophysiologist. "While so many medications list suicide risk as a possible side effect I think we have to use biosensors, and there is a big push within psychiatry to bring them in. Thought disorders could be picked up much quicker and used to determine treatment. Viirre has studied headaches extensively and found that contributing factors build up days before they strike, including mood. He argues a multi-sensor approach combining brain scans, genetic tests and emotion sensing could dramatically improve treatment...."

Connected Health Pitch-Off Winners Announced

"In this paper, we describe a framework for the development of emotion sensing support systems (ESSS) to be used for assisting human in decision-making process during interview scenarios. Such systems aim to support police ofﬁcers during questioning and doctors during medical diagnosis. One of thecharacteristics of ESSS is to ensure that in addition to help the specialist to reach the correct conclusion without interfering, it also helps to improve the skills of the specialists who use it...."

"IBM's Watson Cognitive AI Platform Evolves, Senses Feelings....more practical applications for Watson, including services that are used by doctors...Watson is already besting the best humans at medical diagnoses and treatment plans that lead to the best outcomes, a feat thought to be decades away if ever by experts just a few short years ago...."

"Emotion sensing robots can tell how you feel....Measures physical responses and will be used to treat autistic children...."

"In this paper, we present a pervasive and unobtrusive system for sensing human emotions, which are inferred based on the recording, processing, and analysis of the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) signal from human bodies. Being different from traditional multimodal emotion sensing systems, our proposed system recognizes human emotions with the single modularity of GSR signal, which is captured by wearable sensing devices. A comprehensive set of features is extracted from GSR signal and fed into supervised classifiers for emotion identification. Our system has been evaluated by specific experiments to investigate the characteristics of human emotions in practice. The high accuracy of emotion classification highlights the great potential of this system in improving humans' mental health in the future.

"Affective Computing and Interaction: Psychological, Cognitive and Neuroscientific Perspectives: Psychological, Cognitive and Neuroscientific Perspectives......Psychological, Cognitive and Neuroscientific Perspectives Gökçay, Didem ... in the body, and automated tools are used in assisting diagnosis and therapy monitoring. ... Emotion–sensing technology has been harnessed for gauging the .."

"Startup Wants to Diagnose Disease by Analyzing Emotions in Your Voice..."

"It's called Moodies....and if you talk to it for 20 seconds, it will produce an on-the-spot emotional diagnosis..."

"....robot therapists...Wi-Fi to sense EMOTIONS...read emotions with 87 per cent accuracy...May also help monitor and diagnose depression and anxiety..."

PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM
Can affective computing fill the empathy gap?
Diagnosis and biofeedback system for stress - ES@MDH
Pain Intensity Recognition Rates via Biopotential Feature Patterns with ...

"Clinically, wearable EDA sensors can be used in psychopathology, dermatology,and neurology for diagnostic purposes and therapy evaluation. Potential clinical applications include screening for cystic fibrosis [14], classification of depressive illnesses [15], prediction of functional outcome in schizophrenia [16], discrimination between healthy and psychotic patients [17], characterization of sympathetic arousal in autism [18], early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy [19] and providing biofeedback in treating chronic hyperhidrosis [20], epileptic [21], and psychogenic nonepilep-tic [22] seizures...."

Cardiogram monitor special for pediatric nursing
Multifunctional nursing bed for cardiovascular department
TELE-NEURO/SOMNO/COGNO-METRY- AN APPROACH TO BRAIN WAVES MONITORING USING CLOUD COMPUTING FOR REMOTE CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS, DECISION AND CARE FOR SLEEP, MENTAL AND COGNITIVE
Brain wave biofeedback diagnosis therapeutic apparatus and system

There's more out there folks! Below is the search string I used...

("emotion sensing" OR "sense emotions") (diagnosis OR diagnose) (medical OR physical OR psychological)

("affective computing") (diagnosis OR diagnose) (medical OR physical OR psychological)

("galvanic skin response" OR "heart rate variability" OR hrv OR gsr OR "skin conductance")(diagnosis OR diagnose) (medical OR physical OR psychological)

(biofeedback) (diagnosis OR diagnose) (medical OR physical OR psychological)

Additional Resources -

Emotional Stress causes and/or aggravates Physical and/or Mental Symptoms -
Commons Signs and Sympotons of Stress | The American Institute of ...
Stress Symptoms: Physical Effects of Stress on the Body - WebMD
Emotional Distress Signs - WebMD
11 Signs and Symptoms of Too Much Stress - Healthline
Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and behavior - Mayo Clinic
6 Surprising Stress Symptoms - Women's Health
Common Signs & Signals of a Stress Reaction
Stress - National Institute of Mental Health - NIH
STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological, Behavioral, and Biological ...
Stress and your health: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
Psychological stress and fibromyalgia: a review of the evidence ...
Relationships between physical symptoms, emotional distress, and ...
Do Your Physical Symptoms Have an Emotional Explanation?
Stress can cause health, productivity issues for Airmen > Andersen Air ...
PTSD and Physical Symptoms | Emotion, Stress & Health
Anxiety and physical illness - Harvard Health
Physical Symptoms Behavioral Symptoms Emotional Symptoms ...
The gut-brain connection - Harvard Health
Stress Symptom Checklist
The Physical Effects of Stress | Ohio University
Coping with Stress | Features | CDC
Why Arthritis Can Stress You Out — and Cause Anxiety – Health ...

Emotional Stress is directly proportional to Pain
The Connections Between Emotional Stress, Trauma and Physical Pain
Pain and your emotions: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
Pain and Emotion: A Biopsychosocial Review of Recent Research
Pain and your emotions: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
Pain in Times of Stress - NCBI - NIH
Psychological Stress and Cancer - National Cancer Institute
An examination of the relationship between chronic pain and post ...
Back Pain and Emotional Distress - North American Spine Society
Neuroscience of Pain, Stress, and Emotion | ScienceDirect
Why stress may cause abdominal pain, from the Harvard Mental ...
Uncovering the link between emotional stress and heart disease ...
The psychology of low back pain - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard ...
The Emotional Impact of the Pain Experience
psychological and psychiatric factors of chronic pain - Hrčak - Srce
Connection between emotions and physical pain? | Go Ask Alice!
Stress is a pain in the neck — literally! | Go Ask Alice!
Psychological Stress Can Make Pain Worse - anxietycentre.com
6 Ways You're Making Your Chronic Pain Worse Than It Needs To Be ...
Eliminating Stress Brings Pain Relief - Pain Management Center ...
How Anxiety Can Create Aches and Pains - Calm Clinic
Stress Exacerbates Endometriosis Manifestations and Inflammatory ...
Prior stress could worsen premenstrual symptoms, NIH study finds ...
Psychosocial stress and anxiety in musculoskeletal pain patients with ...
Headaches: Reduce stress to prevent the pain - Mayo Clinic

Emotion Sensing Technology

6 Wearables to Track Your Emotions - A Plan For Living
Emotion-Sensing Technology in the Internet of Things - Onix-Systems
Merging Technology and Emotions: Introduction to Affective Computing.
2 Affordable Biofeedback Devices That Will Help You Focus and Relax
Affective Computing: Technology that Understands Human Emotions
Instant Biofeedback Provided by Wearable Sensor Technology Can ...
New Frontiers in Heart Rate Variability and Social Coherence ...
Future affective technology for autism and emotion communication
Biofeedback in medicine: who, when, why and how? - NCBI - NIH
Computer technology. Clinical applications of biofeedback. - NCBI
BIOFEEDBACK IN MEDICAL PRACTICE - NCBI - NIH
What Are You Feeling? Technology for Emotion Sensing and ...
Sensor-less sensing for affective computing and stress management ...
A Survey of Affective Computing for Stress Detection: Evaluating ...
Current Applications of Biofeedback Technology to the ... - jstor
Information technology and health care: A scenario of biofeedback ...
Ten stress busting wearables to help you chill - Gadgets & Wearables
How to measure galvanic skin response with wearables? - Psychology ...
A Wearable Respiratory Biofeedback System Based on Generalized ...
Highly wearable galvanic skin response sensor using flexible and ...
Wearable Sensors for Remote Health Monitoring - NCBI - NIH
Mobile App to Streamline the Development of Wearable Sensor ...
Wearable Computer Systems for Affective Computing - MIT Media Lab ...
Current and Past Projects - MIT Media Lab: Affective Computing Group
Stress Recognition Using Wearable Sensors and Mobile Phones
These Wearables Detect Health Issues Before They Happen - MIT ...
A Wearable Sensor for Unobtrusive, Long-Term Assessment of ...
Frontiers | A Critical Review of Consumer Wearables, Mobile ...
MoodWings: a wearable biofeedback device for ... - ACM Digital Library
Development of a wearable HRV telemetry system to be operated by ...
Breeze: Sharing Biofeedback Through Wearable Technologies - arXiv

**********************************

Much more on this topic with my upcoming books starting in 2019!

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

"Patient Listener" - New Medical Career Option?

2016-03-21T15:12:00.001-05:00

How about outsourcing "Medical Patient Listening"?

The "Patient Listener" could listen at length to a patient, take medical history, ask probing questions, etc. - working with the patient to develop a summarized version, symptom/event timeline, etc. of the patient's story - for the doctor to better diagnose, and treat. Summary would include more than just medical history and symptoms - like "what else is going on" in their lives, personality profiles, etc. - to help the doctor hone in on the exact diagnosis and treatment plan.

Why not? Could this be a new career option in Complementary Medicine?

New value-added feature for Patient Advocates?

This concept might help bridge the gap between the unheard patient and the busy practitioner.

Qualifications might include:

Good listener
Caring
Have time (retired health care professionals?)
Able to interpret body language
Ability to guide conversations to achieve results
Know what questions to ask to get at the root problem
Be open to symptoms being partially physical and partly psychological.

Maybe this "Story Listener" wouldn't have to be a doctor, nurse, etc. - Maybe the Listener could be a caring LPN, Community Health Worker, etc.

Maybe this concept could reduce overall health care costs. Sometimes just listening heals in itself. Maybe the M.D. would be more efficient. Sometimes when the patient realizes what the problem is, they can fix it themselves, e.g. manage stress, self-help, etc.

In addition to interviewing the patient, the listener could interview family/friends to better understand "what is really going on".

This approach might be particularly helpful for chronic health conditions....for those who are "sick and tired of being sick and tired".

It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has. William Osler
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html

It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html

"It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has." - William Osler

It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html

******************************************************************************

Some ideas to think about....

Narrative medicine

Medical Listener patent

Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”? - Health ...

The Medical Inquiry: Invite, Listen, Summarize

Doctor as story-listener and storyteller

Patient Stories May Improve Health

Help the patient tell his story by Murray Wexler; Leta McKinney Adler

Getting diagnostic help through sharing the patient's story

Healing, the Patient Narrative-Story and the Medical ...

Every Patient Tells A Story by Lisa Sanders ...

Why patient stories actually matter

We listen but do we hear? The importance of patient stories

The patient's story: integrating the patient-and physician-centered approaches to interviewing

Why did I miss the diagnosis? some cognitive explanations and educational implications.

Physician Cognition | The Patient's Story - the Whole Story ...

A Medical Detective Story: Why Doctors Make Diagnostic ...

Patients' Diagnostic Accuracy is Better than Physicians!

Getting diagnostic help through sharing the patient's story

Narrative medicine: a model for empathy, reflection, profession, and trust

Diagnosis Goes Low Tech - NYTimes.com

Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness

Diagnose This, by Heidi Julavits | Harper's Magazine

Narrative and Medicine

Practical strategies for practising narrative-based medicine

Broken doctor–patient relationships: why won't they listen ...

Who is more helpful, a doctor who does not listen to you or ...

It's A Long Story, Doctor! - Google Books Result

Listening and Focusing

As hospitals go digital, human stories get left behind

Why patient stories actually matter | Heart Sisters

The Importance of Telling (and Listening) to the Story

Invite, listen, and summarize: a patient-centered communication technique

Narrative Medicine - Patients Telling Their Stories - Oprah.com

Galen and the rhetoric of healing by Susan P Mattern

Saunders Essentials of Medical Assisting

Preparing medical students to become attentive listeners.

What I learned from listening to a patient

Patient Listening | University of Iowa Press

The importance of physician listening from the patients ...

ERIC - If You Listen, the Patient Will Tell You the Diagnosis ...

Always Listen to the Patient - They're Trying to Tell You the ...

History Taking. Information about History Taking | Patient

Doctor as story-listener and storyteller

**************************************************

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and not medical/legal advice.

Want to Know how Your Mind is affecting your Body Symptoms?

2016-01-22T09:26:00.000-06:00

To find out how a person's Mind could be affecting their Body Symptoms, here are some tools:

Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”?

Did You Know that Your Emotional “Hot Buttons” Could Be Causing Your Bad Health? - Determine Your “Stress Profile” with Phototherapy and Biofeedback

Disclaimer - For information only, not medical advice.

You might be able to connect to the "Doctor Within" each of us, using the Ideomotor Response!

2014-10-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

You might be able to connect to the "Doctor Within" each of us, using the Ideomotor Response! - Try this below....

Arduino Controlled Ouija Board - If you're looking to chat with those on the "other side," - https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1631?utm_source=SparkFun+Customer+Newsletter&utm_campaign=005078f568-StandardNewsletterOct27-31&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa5287abaf-005078f568-60600153

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

Could Biofeedback Be Used to Assist Medical Diagnosis and Treatment?

2012-03-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

Just read a good book....New Mind, New Body - Bio-Feedback: New Directions for the Mind by Barbara B. Brown

The book is excellent. I was hoping to find reference to using biofeedback for medical diagnosis, similar to my research in "Interfacing With The Doctor Within". Maybe I missed the diagnosis references, though.

Anyhow, here's some links you might find interesting....

http://books.google.com/books?id=0SSvnhNqPhQC&q=new+mind+new+body&dq=new+mind+new+body&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VutUT_ijCcH3ggehv-G5DQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA - book described above
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Brown_(scientist) - about the author
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofeedback - biofeedback explained
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_Applied_Psychophysiology_and_Biofeedback - Biofeedback Research Society mentioned in book

Please let me know of actual devices or instrumentation to access a person's mind, dreams, subconscious, and/or intuition....or anything like that.

I still think emotion sensors could be used to assist in medical diagnosis. Sometimes I get excited when find others working in this area, but not to the extent I want it to happen.

Ms. Brown's books are excellent in the area of Biofeedback. I've read none better.

Yet, I was disappointed to not see where this monitoring of emotions was not used to detect "emotional hotspots", which might be causing, or contributing to, the reported malady.

Here's what I'm looking for...."Doctor using an emotion sensor to assist in clinical diagnosis."

Let me know if I missed something. Got any suggestions?

Here's the Search String I used...barbara-brown (diagnosis OR diagnose OR diagnostic) (biofeedback OR lie-detector OR polygraph OR polygrapy)

Anyhow, that's all for today. What am I missing? Please comment.

Thanks!

Tom's Writings News Blog is now working

2012-02-28T17:07:00.002-06:00

Please see http://toms-writings.blogspot.com/, if interested. Thanks

Tom's Writings - New Blog - News of all my writing and inventing

2012-02-18T08:10:00.000-06:00

Hello All – FYI – I now have a news hub for all my writing and "virtual inventing" – Tom's Writings | TG Ideas LLC

If you want to know of all my activities then please “Follow by E-Mail” or “Subscribe” on Tom's Writings.

I’m off to a fresh start in my blogging. Stay tuned. I’m so excited to start writing, researching, inventing again.

Best Wishes to you in your endeavors.

Tom

1. Tom's Writings | TG Ideas LLC (Hub) – New Blog

2. Ideas for Products or Inventions

3. Do It Yourself Health Care

4. Health Information Your Doctor Might Not Even Know About....(Or Might Not Want You to Know About!) – New Blog

5. Interfacing with the Doctor Within

6. Mind-Body Healing Machines - formerly titled Virtual Healing Machine

7. Exploring Life As We Don't Know It – New Blog

8. Other Writings – Yahoo Voices, Helium, etc.

Improvement on First Working Model

2010-06-30T09:05:00.001-05:00

Hello All - Just an update....

I'm now using "Self Hypnosis" instead of "Guided Imagery" to "Interface with the Doctor Within".

Here's how this works (using the parts from my first working model)....

I listen to Tape Recorder 1, whereon I pre-recorded a self hypnosis script. I usually have a question or two for each day, but sometimes I just leave it open ended.
I speak into Tape Recorder 2, what my mind sees, hears, intuits, etc. in this self-hypnotic session.
Later, I transfer my comments to text using Dragon Voice Recognition. To this text, I add my daily intuitions, dreams, etc. that relate to the questions or something that seems significant.

This is so exciting!!! I'll keep you posted. I'm just getting started, folks. "Listening within" reminds me of shortwave radio listening when I was a kid - try this, try that until I got the signal I was looking for.

I'm also working on a "Pain Dimmer" that might augment above. Stay tuned for updates !!!!

Has anyone used polygraphy techniques to obtain better health information from patients?

2010-05-24T07:54:00.001-05:00

Has anyone used polygraph (e.g. lie detector, biofeedback indicator, galvanic skin response, etc,) techniques to obtain health information from patients?

The premise is that health care practitioners (e.g. doctors) must rely on accurate and complete verbal information from the patient to make a good diagnosis and treatment plan. Sometimes, this information is missing from the patient, either on purpose or inadvertently (e.g. forgetting, holding back hunches of what they think is going on, etc.)

It seems to me that "polygraphy" might be a good start at viewing the "inside workings" of an individual to find out "what's really going on".

This might be most useful for those patients who don't seem to improve, are difficult to diagnose, or for which there is no hope for recovery - and the patients or family are willing to try anything for a chance to get better.
I am working on this topic, as part of my blog and I would like to know your thoughts on this. I have a working model and continue to improve it as time goes on. First working model is at http://doctor-within.blogspot.com/2010/02/hello-all-i-now-have-first-working.html

Is anyone else doing similar research, or would like to?
Would you like to know more of my own research and experimentation?
Would you like me to show you how to make and use your own apparatus, using off-the-shelf components?
Could my work be a springboard for you in your own research project or maybe even science fair project?
Are you interested in me showing, training, teaching my work in person or via video conference?
As a healthcare professional, would you like me to show you my work?
How else can I help you?

Thanks! Keep in touch, if you want.

How It Works

2010-03-02T14:30:00.002-06:00

“Interfacing with the Doctor-Within” – How It Works

My first “working model” uses established Polygraphy

(Lie-Detector) techniques and technology for a new purpose – asking health related questions. Typically polygraphs are used by police departments in identifying suspects or in pre-employment screening. Polygraph equipment is usually not available to the general public, but Biofeedback

devices are readily available. Biofeedback devices make use many of the same principles of Polygraphy. This first working model uses a Galvanic Skin Response

(GSR) Biofeedback Device to determine emotional state in response to health related questions posed to a subject.

For example, the questions below are presented to a subject along with control questions. In response, the subject answers the questions.

1. Is the stress level in your life adversely affecting your health?

2. Do you think expect the stress in your life to improve?

3. Is the pain in your stomach related to the stress in your life?

4. Do you have pain anywhere else related to the stress in your life?

5. What do you think you need to feel better?

With my apparatus, the question, verbal answer, and GSR “answer” are recorded simultaneously. The recording is then reviewed at the end of a session. The GSR is an indicator of “internal emotional tenderness”, similar to a doctor pressing on a body part and asking “Does it hurt here?”. GSR is a signal to the person or practitioner to ask additional questions to determine the true source of the “dis-ease”.

For example, in Question 1 above, the verbal answer might be NO because to answer YES might mean a sign of weakness. The GSR would, however, scream YES, since the stress is killing the person. This would indicate more questioning is necessary to arrive at the truth.

In practice, the health questions could be asked by the apparatus or by another person. This technique could be used by:

· Individuals asking themselves questions using Guided Imagery Techniques

· Health Care Practitioners, e.g. M.D., asking their patients questions.

· Asking questions of those concerned about the health of the patient, e.g. mother with infant, spouse, friend, etc.

· Asking Health Care Practitioners to pick the best diagnosis amongst several, when there is no clear choice, to add a “Medical Intuition

” dimension to their diagnosis.

I’m hoping this concept is not used so much for Patient Compliance

, but rather for the individual or practitioner to use because they want to obtain a more “Holistic

” answer. Perhaps this device would be most helpful for those who are willing to try anything to get better.

This first working model was made for under $300 with components available to the general public. For full details, please see “First Working Model”

. I’ve just begun to experiment and research in this concept. I made this concept public early in hopes that “Open Innovation

” would develop this more quickly than me working on this alone.

For more information and a report of continuing research, please see http://doctor-within.blogspot.com/

For questions or comments, please contact Tom Garz (TG Ideas LLC) at tgideas@gmail.com.

This writing, and any other communication, from TG Ideas LLC are strictly for informational purposes. See full disclaimer on TG Ideas LLC publications and website - https://sites.google.com/site/tgideas/

Conscious-Subconscious Interface

2010-02-25T09:45:00.000-06:00

Hello All - Moving along with my first "working model"....

FYI - Estimated cost of parts the way I made it is about $300. Estimated time of assembly 1/2 hour. Estimated setup and getting used to the apparatus and operation - 2 hours. You can probably do much better though...and faster!

You know I've been thinking that this device is really a "Conscious-Subconscious Interface".

Question + Conscious Answer + Subconscious Answer = Holistic Answer
Q + CA + SA = HA

Also, here’s some links related to “Concealed Information Test” I mentioned in my PowerPoint presentations. Perhaps “concealed information” is in my subconscious – further experimentation will prove this out (hopefully). Think about it…I’m asking myself essentially multiple choice health questions with Guided Imagery.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4T-4JCBPGY-1&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1222342120&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=28c66dad32ac39206f5bad703e2d2886

http://www.openu.ac.il/Personal_sites/Gershon-Ben-Shakhar/GKTCHAP3.pdf

Stay tuned…I’m just getting started.
For details on my first "Working Model" - Please go to http://doctor-within.blogspot.com/2010/02/hello-all-i-now-have-first-working.html

Stay tuned for news/progress in this exciting research area!
Do you share interest in this topic? Let me know. Thanks!

This writing, and any other communication, from TG Ideas LLC are strictly for informational purposes. See full disclaimer on TG Ideas LLC publications and website - https://sites.google.com/site/tgideas/

First Working Model !!!!

2010-02-17T07:48:00.035-06:00

Hello All - I now have a first "Working Model" to "Interface with the Doctor Within" me. I hope you find it of interest.

If interested, check out the Overview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vgau3fgQHE

For much more information, see the details are below. Feel free to download or pass this information along to others who might be interested. Essentially, the apparatus uses Polygraph (Lie Detector or Biofeedback) techniques to give a more "holistic" answer to health questions asked.

Google Docs File Folder of PowerPoint Presentations (Narrated), Diagrams, Parts List, Instructions, Guided Imagery Scripts etc. - https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0ByxQMXIbYsLcNDdlMTU4MTgtMjYwMy00OTQ4LThjYTQtOWY2NmIwNjQ5NDBi&hl=en

Contents of File Folder Above – All PowerPoint Presentations are narrated.

Seven Separate Short PowerPoint presentations – Overview and 6 part series.

One Long (Large) PowerPoint presentation - Overview and 6 part series combined.

Connection Diagram, Parts List, Setup, Operation of first “Working Model”

Four Sample Guided Imagery Scripts – Health Overview, Body Scan, Needs and Wants, Evaluate Current Situation

FYI - Overview and 6 part series are also on YouTube.

Stay tuned. I've just gotten started on this new adventure!

First Webinar Below - Register if interested.

Interfacing with the Doctor Within

2008-07-04T08:00:00.018-05:00

Hello All – I hope this blog finds other people interested in using science to record and explore the “intuitive messages” the body, mind, and spirit are trying to tell us about our health and health of others. Up to now, we could only say or write these "intuitive messages".

I'm just starting in this work, or really adventure. This first posting describes what's been done before and offers up some ideas of what else might be done. As time goes on, I plan to post my learnings and experimentation on myself for the benefit of others.

Something to think about....Albert Schweitzer wrote We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work." - Maybe some day we'll have a way to access our "doctor within". Maybe this article is a step toward that direction.

Please read this information over and If you like what you see, please pass this along to as many others you think might also be interested. Feel free to comment on this blog posting, perhaps adding your own research or experimentation. I'm interested in finding others who are interested in this topic.

Throughout the world, there is much research being done on "Brain Computer Interfaces" that show brain or mind activity (e.g. EEG, MRI, etc.). On the other hand, very little research is being done on automatically recording "intuitive messages", perhaps by computer. By doing so, we could scientifically study and improve on this process, and maybe someday, have a device to "Interface with the Doctor Within", like that described below.

A low-cost or free device, readily available to the general public, that would give advice regarding what a specific individual should or should not do to restore or preserve health.
This device might be used directly by individuals or indirectly by others.
This device would give advice as good as or better than existing healthcare professionals.
This advice would be “spot-on” and not “trial and error”.
If “prescriptions” are necessary, this device would advise exactly the correct substance and dosage for the individual.
If “operations or procedures” are necessary, this device would work with the surgeon or practitioner on informing exactly what needs to be done as the procedure is being done.
For those individuals unable to communicate, this device would express the individual’s current healthcare status and wishes.
This device would be completely aware of the current health status of the individual, plus have a complete medical history of the individual.
This device could give a written report of what to do or not do, plus provide updates of how treatment is going.
This device could inform and work with healthcare professionals, if needed.

Anyhow, let's get started!....here's a start.....feel free to add your comments as time goes on....

There seems to be a "Doctor Within" that takes care of most of the body functions, with or without our help or the help of a medical professional. Sometimes, however, the "Doctor Within" might need help from the outside to complete the body repairs. Currently we only "look in" to fix the health problem by our medical tests, etc. We don't “ask” the "Doctor Within" what it needs to fix itself. I'd like to lay the foundation for better accessing the "Doctor Within", perhaps by electronic means.

Maybe intuition is a way to access the "Doctor Within". Other names for intuition are – hunch, gut feel, sixth sense, gut instinct, gut knowing, innate wisdom, gut reaction, etc. Nothing new here, Medical Intuition has been around for some time.

This posting proposes some ways to detect and record intuition, plus some information on possible “how-to” techniques. I couldn't find much in Traditional Science on this concept, so some of below is from Fringe Science. When you think about it, all science was once considered fringe, weird, against the rules, etc. at one time in history. Anyhow, enough theory - Let's get on with how this concept could be implemented. Please keep an open mind as you read, since this seems to be the best science we have at the moment on this topic. If you don't like what you see, how would you "interface with the Doctor Within"? Please let us all know.

Diagnostic Dreams Access – Possible How-To Information

Dreams have been used throughout history to diagnose health. A few examples are below:

* Hippocrates studied dreams as diagnosic tools.

* Interpreting dreams for corrective regimen: diagnostic dreams in Greco-Roman medicine.

* Healing Through Dreamwork

* Edgar Cayce - see "health readings"

* "How to Listen to Dreams" by Patricia Garfield PhD

One way to communicate with our “inner selves” while sleeping, might be Morse Code or Texting, as evidenced below:

* “Morse code communication from the lucid dream” – See Figure 4.

* “Not even sleep can stop us texting”

* Communication and control by means of brainwave and other processes causing ...US Pat. 6529773 - brain alpha waves can send messages in Morse code and be printed out by printer...

* EncephalolexianalyzerUS Pat. 5840040 - EEG to Morse Code...

* Lucid Dreaming By Celia Green, Celia Elizabeth Green, Charles McCreery - discusses using eye movements for Morse Code communication while dreaming...

I'm thinking Diagnostic Dreams might be the best place to start....but more possibilities below!!

Medical Dowsing or Radiesthesia – Possible How-To Information

Dowsing has been described as an indicator of intuition or unknown knowledge. As you will see below, computer-assisted dowsing is not new. I suggest starting with what has been done already with medical dowsing or Radiesthesia. Then, interface this dowsing with a computer.

A computer or PDA could record dowsing answers very nicely without interrupting the dowsing train of thought. Looking ahead, I can see where computers can help explore these ideomotor effects by recording, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating these effects. Computers can also help form questions and provide known information to the user. It seems like all the traditional uses of dowsing could be duplicated and maybe enhanced by computer-assisted dowsing.

* DE19517828 - Deflection measuring device for divining rod. This patent application shows how to interface a divining (dowsing) rod to a computer (computer-assisted dowsing.

* A Simple, Low-Cost, Data-Logging Pendulum Built from a Computer Mouse

* Camera Mouse to record any dowsing tool response.

* Hand worn remote computer mouse - US Pat. 5489922 -– could be part of a dowsing tool.

* Once dowsing tool responses are inputted to computer, Mouse Gesture software could interpret the tool response into answers.

* A Pie Menu might be viewed as a pendulum-dowsing chart. A Mouse Pad or Computer Screen could be in the form of a Dowsing Chart or an anatomy diagram, Aura diagram, or Chakra diagram. WebMD or other Internet resources could also be dowsed for diagnosis/treatment.

* Tactile-acoustic information detecting and measuring apparatus and methodUS Pat. 5744715 - measuring "stick" as used in Radionics. Furthermore, a computer touch pad might be used instead of a Radionic Stick Plate.

* System and method for speech generation from brain activityUS Pat. 7275035 – Ideomotor responses might initiate speech.

* Polygraph (Lie Detector) Devices to record intuition – Possible How-To Information

* EP1651942 - ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL INTUITION INDICATOR…uses body measurements to infer intuition….

* US6067468 - Apparatus for monitoring a person's psycho-physiological condition…uses skin resistance…

* DIY Polygraph

* Build on the work of Cleve Backster and his theory of Plant Perception. Maybe plants could be a remote intuition indicator in themselves and the results could then be inputted into a computer. Don’t forget about animals having a “sixth sense”, knowing when someone is sick.

* Gut Feelings, Intuition, and Emotions: An Exploratory Study - Dean I. Radin, Marilyn J. Schlitz. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. February 1, 2005, 11(1): 85-91. doi:10.1089/acm.2005.11.85. – uses electrogastrogram to investigate gut feelings.

* The intuitive responses of Medical Intuitives, Doctors, Veterinarians, Patients, etc. could be recorded and studied to enhance medical diagnosis.

Inputting Other Intuition Indicators into a computer – Possible How-To Information

* Message type recording psychographsUS Pat. 4753439 - Filed Oct 10, 1985

* Ouija Mouse Pad

* Gypsy: The First Computerized Talking Board

* Automatic Writing could be inputted to a computer using handwriting recognition software.

* Facilitated Communication or Coma Work could be inputted to a computer helping a patient unable to communicate their healthcare wishes.

* Diagnostic Dreams could be automatically inputted to a computer - instead of writing or speaking them after waking.

Use existing tools for measuring/recording Ideomotor involuntary movements – Possible How-To Information

* Tremor measurement deviceUS Pat. 4306291 - Filed Dec 14, 1979

* Measuring movement disorderUS Pat. 5562104 - Filed Apr 6, 1994

* System an method for detecting tremors such as those which result from ...US Pat. 5293879 - Filed Sep 23, 1991

Collaborative diagnosis and treatment plan – Possible How-To Information

* Collaborative software could link computer-assisted dowsers or other information seekers together in an efficient manner. This is similar to “getting a second opinion”.

Decreasing computer assistance – Possible How-To Information

* Perhaps there could be computer based training to help people increase their own innate intuition. Computer-assisted intuition tools could be viewed as “training wheels” to using intuition efficiently.

FYI - This "Interfacing with the Doctor Within" concept first appeared on my other blog “Ideas for Products or Inventions” several months ago. I thought it has so much potential I made a new blog just on this topic alone. If interested in the original postings, please go to.... http://tgideas.blogspot.com/2008/04/design-notes-for-low-cost-medical.html and
http://tgideas.blogspot.com/2008/03/design-notes-for-low-cost-medical.html

Stay tuned for news/progress in this exciting research area...especially after I retire soon!

Do you share interest in this topic? Let me know. Thanks!

NOTE - Please remember that newer patents are probably not expired, and therefore active. Please also be advised that many countries have legal restrictions or regulations regarding diagnosing and treating others and the equipment used therein - Alternative Medicine - Regulation, and Medicine - Legal Restrictions, Biomedical Engineering - Regulatory Issues, Medical License, etc. On the other hand, there might be little or no legal restrictions to Self-Diagnosis/Treatment or Self-Experimentation. If in doubt, please check with a legal professional.

This writing, and any other communication, from TG Ideas LLC are strictly for informational purposes. See full disclaimer on TG Ideas LLC publications and website - http://www.athenet.net/~ideas/ The above is a collection of publicly available information that anyone could have found and pieced together.