ABSTRACT
Throughout the years I have experienced feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger, and helplessness when dealing with some patients who are commonly described as “difficult.” When discussing such cases with others I have discovered that I am not alone in this regard. As a means of self-preservation together with an attempt to understand the dynamics of this situation I have repeatedly attempted to sort out the possible etiology of this phenomenon. In essence, why is it that the difficult patient is so difficult, and why do they so upset us?
