"Her world orbits around doctors. Psychic tension rules her universe."

"Drug addiction—particularly to prescription painkillers and tranquilizers—has long been a feminist issue. Women have been liberally fed pills for their anxiety, depression, and pain for over a century. At one point, the former First Lady of the United States, Betty Ford, undertook addiction treatment for, among other things, tranquilizer abuse. Librium and Valium “were unabashedly promoted as wonder drugs that could be used to help manage an enormous range of life problems, ranging from tension, nerves, and irritability to menopause, juvenile delinquency, family and marital difficulties, and problems at work.”"
Andrea Alessi



"This childless widow's interpersonal relationshps sociometrically diagrammed reveal the patterns of dominance, closeness, absence, and loss created by the principal people in her life.
Her mother's obvious preference for her older sister has always rankled this patient. The deaths of her father and husband accentuated her alienation and hostility. Hypochondriasis is the way she disowns her conflicts.
While you gradually turn her away from somatic concerns and guide her through old, hidden problem areas, you can ease her undue psychic tension with Valium* (diazepam)."

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image (1971) via