[Anxiety-generating stress]

After a definition of the condition and a discussion of its physiopathological significance, the need to examine the patient as a whole and provide total therapy is emphasised with reference to both the literature and personal cases. It is concluded: 1) that the mesodiencephalic structures, especially the hypothalamus, are of primary importance in human physiological and pathological processes. The hypothalamus is the real brain of the viscera, the functional bridge between the hypophysis, the limbic structures and the upper cortical centres; 2) that doctors should consider the role of the hypothalamus in the diagnosis and therapy of the total person: a) in evaluating the patient's real emotional and psychological situation; b) in realising that the simple administration of a drug to cure the organic symptom really means only partial treatment of the patient himself.