Reduced functioning, disability, anger, denial, anxiety, hopelessness and depression are common sequellae of serious illness. Individual differences in coping are not entirely accounted for by the severity or longevity of the illness.
Some patients repeatedly present with somatic complaints in the absence of physical signs.
Equally frustrating are individuals who are unable to adjust to illness, treatment, or recovery. Such patients require extensive management and often make considerable demands on health care resources. Since 1985, the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at the University of Michigan has treated individuals with depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, or maladaptive behavior in relation to a variety of physical illnesses. Examples include post-stroke depression, morbid obesity, Crohn's Disease, diabetic adherence, anxiety and adjustment to Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators implantation, reactions to Cancer and its treatment, Hepatitis C, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome along with a variety of headaches, and chronic pain conditions. Anxiety associated with medical procedures can also be treated in this context.