"Ah, it's nothing" or "it's just a minor virus"... With such comments, many people have suffered through significant illnesses, but this kind of denial can have serious consequences over time. And not in a good way!

Denial of illness is a legitimate response of the body, but it's certainly not beneficial. And it's not without consequences either. We must remember that our body warns us about problems well in advance, but we often fail to recognize these signs, let alone respond to and address the issue. Consequently, the body escalates its warnings, ultimately "forcing" us to bed to draw our attention to the problem and resolve it.

All illnesses are a result of the lifestyle we lead.

Initially, denying an illness might seem beneficial because it buys us time to handle "urgent" matters. However, the worst scenario is when we take too much time, leaving the body with no choice but to adapt to the new regime. Researchers at the University of Arkansas in the USA found that nearly 80% of heart attacks and strokes are due to denying illnesses. Patient records often show atypical and unclear heart symptoms.

Similar results were found in Australia and Japan, where studies were not limited to women. Work and family conditions are the most common reasons for denying illnesses.

Researchers warn that the best thing you can do is discuss everything with your personal doctor and never ignore symptoms. The body never warns us unnecessarily, even if the problem seems minor.

An American study went the furthest, attributing more than half of diseases to the state of society we live in. Today's society does not allow for weakness, does not acknowledge feelings of fear, and showing emotions is seen as a sign of poor and incompetent behavior. If these symptoms had appeared at the beginning of the modern social order, no one would have noticed. But as conditions worsen day by day, there are more outbreaks of diseases that doctors can't even characterize, let alone treat successfully.

The medications patients typically receive in such cases do not help treat the problem. Instead, they are for another issue you don't yet have (but will) or are simply placebos.

The American society responded typically in its own way (the wealthy have personal psychologists who understand their wards' conditions - the problem is that they don't do this for free). Here, undefined diseases that can't be categorized are labeled as stress.

A study conducted some time ago in the EU showed that nearly one in five people needs the help of a psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist. These are illnesses where the effectiveness of medication is less than 5 percent.

In the USA, such diseases already account for more than 20 percent, and we are following their path.