Common psychological problems among STD patients

 　　In recent years, with the opening of the country, economic development, and the increase in the floating population, the once extinct sexually transmitted diseases It resurfaced and spread rapidly. In some areas, sexually transmitted diseases have become skin Sexually transmitted diseases department, Gynecology , common diseases in urology. As a special group of patients, STD patients not only have physical disease , due to the influence of many social, economic, cultural and other factors, a series of special psychological problems have also arisen.

　　1. Shame

　　The generation of shame has a strong social and cultural color. Due to the influence of my country's thousands of years of traditional Confucian culture, most Chinese people regard prostitution as the first of all evils, and sexually transmitted diseases are mostly related to promiscuity. Therefore, sexually transmitted diseases are regarded as: "visceral diseases" and "disgraceful diseases." Patients with sexually transmitted diseases are often ashamed to show their illness to others. Generally speaking, the degree of shame is inversely proportional to the degree of openness of a region. STD patients in coastal open cities feel less shame, while patients in rural areas feel more shame. In terms of gender, then female Patients are more likely to experience shame.

　　Due to this psychological influence, patients most hope to cure sexually transmitted diseases as soon as possible without being known to anyone. In the early stages of sexually transmitted diseases, some patients are too shy to seek medical treatment. They self-check relevant books, self-diagnose and treat, and abuse medicine, which often results in delays or even changes in the condition. As a last resort, they die. Hospital When seeing a doctor, he is too shy to speak, avoids the important and ignores the trivial, refuses to describe the medical history in detail, or makes up the medical history. This is not conducive to doctors making timely and correct diagnosis and treatment. In this regard, doctors should be enthusiastic and patient when asking about medical history, and promise to keep the patient's confidentiality, and should not be condescending or sarcastic. This enables patients to tell their medical history and undergo examinations with confidence, so as to receive timely and correct treatment.

　　2. Guilt

　　STDs are different from diseases in the general sense. As far as non-venereal diseases are concerned, most patients are not responsible for their disease state (of course there are some exceptions, such as suicide, self-injury, etc.). Therefore, the society has a sympathetic and helpful attitude toward patients with non-STDs. But it's different for people with STDs. At present, sexually transmitted diseases are mostly caused by unclean sexual intercourse. Patients are responsible for falling into the disease state. Some people feel guilty because of this. In addition, after contracting sexually transmitted diseases, they not only experience physical discomfort, but also have extremely painful inner experiences, which makes patients feel regretful. This kind of psychology has both a positive and a negative side. The positive side is that it can enable patients to clean themselves up and no longer engage in unclean sex, which is conducive to the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. The negative side is that if this kind of psychology develops to the extreme, it can lead to a dead end for the patient. The author once saw a male The patient contracted gonorrhea due to a drunken prostitution encounter. The patient developed a strong sense of guilt and felt deeply sorry for his wife and children. He once expressed suicidal thoughts during treatment. After patiently enlightening me, I gave up this idea and vowed never to engage in extramarital sex again.

　　3. Fear

　　Fear arises from the following aspects:

　　(1) Fear of STDs themselves: This mentality comes from the misunderstanding of STDs. As far as the current medical level is concerned, except for AIDS In addition, most sexually transmitted diseases can be cured with standard treatment without leaving any sequelae. However, due to certain publicity in society that exaggerates the harm of STDs, some STD patients regard STDs as terminal illnesses and worry that STDs are difficult to cure and will cause serious and permanent damage to themselves. Those who are infertile are worried about causing infertility or deformities in their offspring, and some patients are worried about affecting sexual function.

　　(2) Worry about transmitting sexually transmitted diseases to family members. Some patients do not understand the transmission routes of sexually transmitted diseases and are worried that ordinary daily contact will transmit sexually transmitted diseases to their family members. Even after they are cured, they dare not have sex with their spouses. They worry all day long, wash their hands constantly, and wash their vulva every day. In severe cases, psychological disorders such as compulsive hand washing may occur.

　　(3) Worry that the unit leader, colleagues, relatives, neighbors, etc. will know about his illness and his reputation will be ruined. Such patients mostly seek treatment from traveling doctors: individual clinics, or seek medical treatment in other places. When seeking medical treatment, they often make up false names, addresses, and units, which is not conducive to epidemic monitoring of sexually transmitted diseases and follow-up of patients.

　　Fear causes the body to be in a state of alertness and tension for a long time, which reduces the body's resistance and is not conducive to the recovery of STD patients. It can also cause symptoms such as loss of appetite, insomnia, and psychogenic impotence. In response to this mentality, doctors should objectively explain to patients the harm of STDs to the body, the effects of treatment, and the transmission routes of STDs. They should also keep the patient's condition confidential, help patients eliminate their fear, and avoid exaggerating or intimidating patients.

　　4. Pessimism and despair

　　Some sexually transmitted diseases, such as non-gonococcal urethritis, are more stubborn. In addition, patients often do not receive timely treatment, use inappropriate medication, and are unable to complete the regular course of treatment, which results in delayed recovery. Genital warts are limited to current treatments, and some patients may relapse multiple times after being cured. Because STDs are difficult to cure for a long time, they put heavy psychological pressure and financial burden on patients, causing some patients to develop a pessimistic and despairing mentality. They believe that STDs are hopeless and give up on themselves. They do not cooperate with treatment or give up treatment. They even indulge themselves more and may infect STDs to more people. In this case, doctors are first required to study their medical skills, improve their professional skills, and try to find effective treatment methods. Secondly, we should explain to the patient the reasons why the disease is stubborn and difficult to recover, so that he can have a comprehensive understanding of the disease, and persuade him to establish confidence in overcoming the disease and establish a healthy behavior, increase the body's resistance, cooperate with treatment, and ultimately defeat the disease.

　　5. Hypochondriasis

　　Some people suspect that they have sexually transmitted diseases due to an accidental extramarital sex or the use of unclean bedding. They repeatedly check their external genitalia and mistake certain structures that they had not noticed before, such as pearly penile papules, villous labia minora, and ectopic skin glands, for sexually transmitted diseases. Even after many tests to rule out sexually transmitted diseases, I still had doubts. Some patients with sexually transmitted diseases have been cured, but they regard some symptoms that have nothing to do with sexually transmitted diseases, such as back pain, muscle twitching, and erythema on the glans of the foreskin, as symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases and think that the sexually transmitted diseases have not been cured. Some doctors, due to limited knowledge or to make money, describe some non-STD symptoms as STDs, which aggravates patients' hypochondriasis. For such patients, in addition to patient explanation, placebo treatment can also be given. Placebos work better for some people who are susceptible to suggestion.

　　6. Hedonic psychology

　　It can be seen in some prostitutes and prostituted women who are unrepentant. These people are influenced by the decadent Western lifestyle and regard traditional sexual morality as a shackles and lack of shame. Or pursue sexual pleasure, or pursue money, regard sexually transmitted diseases as cold , although she has been infected with sexually transmitted diseases many times, she still engages in prostitution or prostitution. These people have contributed to the spread of the current STD epidemic. For such patients, it is important not only to treat their physical diseases, but also to persuade them to give up their unhealthy sexual behaviors. Therefore, just relying on injections and medication will not help. We must also rely on the detention and education of the public security organs.

　　7. The psychology of being abandoned by society

　　Some patients with sexually transmitted diseases feel depraved, shameless, and have an inferiority complex because they have been involved in extramarital sex, and regard themselves as "bad people." Coupled with the widespread discrimination against patients with STDs in society, patients with STDs are considered to be morally corrupt, obscene and shameless. Not only leaders and colleagues look at them differently, but also their families are disgusted. Even some doctors ridicule them, making patients feel abandoned by society and lonely and helpless. Some people give up on themselves and even turn to crime. As a doctor, you should have an understanding, sympathetic, and helpful attitude towards patients with sexually transmitted diseases, and should not be sarcastic or discriminatory. We also have the responsibility to change society's discrimination against STD patients and help patients get out of their psychological misunderstandings.

　　At present, in the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, there is a common erroneous tendency of "treating the disease but not the person", that is, doctors only focus on the patient's physical disease and ignore the psychological factors and related social factors. This tendency cannot adapt to the modern medical model, that is, the "biological-psychological-social medical model", and is very detrimental to the current prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. The modern medical model believes that diseases not only occur in organs and cells, but can also cause changes in people's psychological states. ； In turn, psychological factors and social factors also have an important impact on the occurrence, development, and outcome of the disease. For patients with STDs, feelings of shame and guilt can make patients change their unhealthy sexual behavior, which is conducive to the control of STDs. Excessive fear, pessimism and despair, hypochondriasis, and the mentality of being abandoned by society can cause patients to suffer heavy psychological pressure and even lead to psychological disorders. The hedonic mentality can cause patients to indulge in dangerous sexual behaviors and be unable to stop themselves, which can lead to repeated STDs and spread STDs in society.

　　The famous medical historian Sigris said: "The purpose of medicine is social. Its purpose is not only to treat diseases and rehabilitate a certain organism, but also to make people adjust to their environment and become a useful member of society. ”If a sexually transmitted disease patient is cured only of his physical illness but not of his psychological abnormality, he will still not be able to adapt well to society. For patients with sexually transmitted diseases, it is not only necessary to treat their physical diseases, but also to study their psychological characteristics, understand the possible impact of these psychological characteristics on treatment and prognosis, and help them change their bad mentality and better adapt to society. This requires doctors not only to have superb medical skills, but also to master relevant knowledge of psychology. While treating STDs, they should also provide appropriate psychological consultation according to different psychological states according to different individuals. Only in this way can they get twice the result with half the effort, and enable patients with STDs to fully recover physically and mentally.