Basic psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatics. Types, symptoms, treatment

– manifesting as somatic, but having a psychogenic origin, diseases and functional disorders. This group includes hypertension, bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodermatitis, thyrotoxicosis, myocardial infarction, migraine, bulimia nervosa, anorexia and other pathologies. The most common symptoms are pain, disturbances in the breathing cycle and heartbeat, and skin rashes. Specific diagnosis includes a conversation with a psychiatrist and psychological testing. Treatment involves psychotherapy and medication correction.

The word “psychosomatic” translated from ancient Greek means “belonging to body and soul.” Psychosomatic diseases belong to the group of mental disorders, despite the fact that they manifest themselves at the physiological level. Interest in the close connection between the somatic and mental spheres arose in the time of Hippocrates. The concept of “psychosomatics” was introduced into science at the beginning of the 19th century; active research into this group of diseases has been carried out since the mid-20th century. Data on the prevalence of psychosomatic disorders (PSD) are inaccurate, since there is no clear conceptual framework, and the classification remains imperfect. Epidemiological indicators, according to various experts, range from 0.5 to 66%.

Causes of psychosomatic disorders

Psychosomatic diseases develop on the basis of a physiological predisposition - the readiness of an organ or system for a functional disorder. External psychogenic causes include destructive personal characteristics, relationships with other people, psychological trauma - various factors that generate and maintain negative emotions:

• Intrapersonal conflict. The clash of desires and opportunities, responsibilities and needs contributes to the accumulation of emotional stress. Often the conflict remains unconscious.
• Negative experience. Psychosomatic manifestations arise as a result of traumatic childhood experiences. Unprocessed situations from the past are sources of anxiety.
• Secondary benefit. Physiological disorders are formed due to a person’s subconscious need to be in the “sick” position. The disease provides increased attention and care to others, and allows you not to go to school or work.
• Suggestion. A psychosomatic disorder can develop after suggestion or self-hypnosis. The process unfolds on a subconscious level, information about the disease is accepted without critical evaluation.
• Personality traits. In a situation conducive to the emergence of PSD, people often find themselves with infantilism, isolation, uncertainty, unstable self-esteem, and dependence on external evaluation. The basis of the disorder is the predominance of negative experiences, affective tension, and lack of skills in productive interpersonal relationships.
• Identification. Close emotional contact with a sick person can cause PSD. The development of symptoms is based on unconscious copying.
• Self-punishment. Psychosomatic abnormalities can be formed due to feelings of guilt, shame, and self-hatred. Unconscious auto-aggression at the body level helps reduce tension in the emotional sphere.

Pathogenesis

The general scheme of development of psychosomatic disorders is as follows: in the presence of a physiological predisposition to disruption of the functioning of a certain organ (target organ), an external stress factor leads to the accumulation of affective tension, activating the autonomic nervous system and neuroendocrine changes. First, the speed and purposefulness of neurohumoral transmission is distorted, blood supply disorders occur, and then the functioning of the organ is disrupted. In the early stages, changes occur at the functional level and are reversible. With prolonged systematic exposure to a negative causative factor, they become organic and tissue damage occurs.

Classification

Psychosomatic disorders can be divided into several groups. In clinical practice, the most common classification is based on distinguishing the etiological factor, the semantic content of the leading symptom, and the functional structure of the psychosomatic connection. According to it, there are three large groups of RPS:

• Conversion disorders. Functional and structural disorders are formed on the basis of a neurotic conflict that receives secondary somatic processing. Physical illness serves as a tool for solving social problems. The development of disorders of the type of loss of function is typical - paralysis, blindness, deafness, vomiting.
• Functional syndromes. Disturbances occur at the level of functions; there are no pathophysiological structural changes in the organs. Clinical manifestations are mosaic, including cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms, disorders of the digestive tract, musculoskeletal system, and endocrine system.
• Psychosomatosis. This group includes true psychosomatic disorders - diseases caused by psychogenic factors. Traditionally, these include cases of bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis, essential hypertension, neurodermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, coronary heart disease, thyrotoxicosis, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms of psychosomatic disorders

The clinical picture of PSR is varied. Patients complain about dysfunctions of individual organs and systems or talk about multisystem symptoms. Pain of various localizations is common - chest, head, abdominal, joint, muscle. Instrumental and laboratory examinations do not reveal the causes of the pain syndrome. Some patients, after psychotherapeutic analysis, notice that symptoms arise during emotional tension, stress, and after conflict situations. Other common complaints are rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, a feeling of heaviness in the back and limbs, dizziness, hot and cold flashes, chills, diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, weakness, nasal congestion, cough.

Conversion symptoms are characterized by loss of function. Women are more susceptible to this type of disorder. The main manifestations are respiratory spasms, paralysis, loss of tactile sensitivity, psychogenic muteness, deafness, blindness. In children and adolescents, pre-neurotic, vegetative-dystonic and actual somatic disorders develop. Preneurotic symptoms include tics, nocturnal enuresis, insomnia, unreasonable screaming and crying. Psychosomatic vegetative dystonia is accompanied by dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat. Children with psychosomatic disorders often experience thirst, nausea and vomiting after eating, and suffer from skin itching and rashes. Psychosomatic decreased immunity is manifested by frequent respiratory infections.

Complications

In the absence of adequate therapy, psychosomatic disorders develop according to their somatic counterparts. Functional deviations are transformed into stable structural changes (at the tissue, organ level). The patient’s normal functioning is disrupted, and there is a constant need for the use of symptomatic medications - painkillers, antihypertensives, bronchodilators and others. Severe illnesses limit the patient’s physical and social activity, making him dependent on others, in need of care and assistance in everyday life.

Diagnostics

Making a diagnosis of PSD is a long and labor-intensive process. First of all, patients turn to somatic doctors, undergo all possible physical, instrumental and laboratory examinations, medications and other methods of treatment. Finding the cause of symptoms can take anywhere from several months to several years. According to recent studies, about 30-50% of cases remain undiagnosed; patients maintain satisfactory health by controlling symptoms with medication. The remaining part of the patients is referred by somatic doctors (therapists, cardiologists, neurologists) to a psychiatrist. Specific examination includes the following methods:

• Conversation. The psychiatrist collects anamnesis and clarifies the symptoms. Determines the presence of traumatic situations, stressful effects, intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. Characteristic signs of a neurotic disorder, high emotional tension of the patient.
• Questionnaires. Tests to study the emotional and personal sphere confirm a high level of anxiety and neuroticism. Hypochondriacal, hysterical, and psychasthenic personality traits are often identified. An adapted version of the MMPI, Eysenck personality questionnaires, and Cattell's 16-factor personality questionnaire are used.
• Projective techniques. Drawing, color tests and situation interpretation tests reveal the patient’s conscious and subconscious experiences, which are the basis of PSR, and are widely used in examining children. A set of techniques may include the method of color choices (modified Luscher test), the method of unfinished sentences, the Thematic Apperception Test, a drawing of a person, a family.
. The first stage of treatment is aimed at removing existing problems (conflicts, consequences of trauma, stress) from the subconscious. After this, the connection with the state of your own body and the ability to manage your well-being are restored.
• . If there are concomitant emotional and behavioral disorders, the psychiatrist prescribes medications for temporary relief of symptoms (until the effect of psychotherapy appears). The use of antidepressants, anxiolytics, psychostimulants, behavior disorder correctors, and stress protectors may be indicated.
• Rehabilitation. His immediate environment is involved in the process of restoring the patient’s health. Parents, spouses, and children receive counseling psychological assistance, where the mechanisms of the disease and conditions conducive to recovery are discussed. The efforts of relatives should be aimed at maintaining productive, emotionally open relationships, conflict resolution, assistance and psychological support for the patient.

Prognosis and prevention

A positive effect from psychotherapy is most likely in the initial stages of a psychosomatic disorder - the earlier the diagnosis and treatment are carried out, the more favorable the prognosis. Functional disorders are the easiest to correct; anatomical and structural changes often require long-term medical assistance. Measures to prevent PSD come down to general psychoprophylactic measures. It is important to be able to resist stress, build productive, open interpersonal relationships, not suppress negative emotions, but experience them and draw conclusions.

In the course of changes and development of humanity, the pressures affecting human well-being have also changed. More and more stressors began to appear for which evolution had not developed genetic protection programs. For example, in biological terms, the reaction of a primitive man to a predator and the reaction of a modern man to a screaming boss are not much different - the only difference is that a primitive man could run away or deal with a tiger, which a subordinate cannot allow in relations with his superiors.

Adaptation to the environment has become more dependent on a person’s mental capabilities than on his muscles, although this sometimes leads to rather unpleasant results. The fact is that emotions that should mobilize the body to protect itself from a threat are now increasingly suppressed. These emotions are integrated into the social context, and over time they are completely eliminated, they are no longer recognized by their “master” and become the cause of destructive processes in the body. It is precisely this influence of the mental sphere on the occurrence or dynamics of somatic diseases that is studied by psychosomatics.

Thus, a psychosomatic disorder in a broad sense is commonly referred to as somatic symptoms and syndromes, the occurrence of which was due to the characteristics of mental functioning and the individual’s reaction to stressful situations.

Psychosomatic causes of diseases

In psychology, there are 7 main underlying causes of psychosomatic disorders:

1. Internal conflict

For the first time, internal conflict was considered in psychoanalysis, and since then psychologists have identified an increasing number of its spheres of influence on a person. Influence on the occurrence and dynamics of somatic disease is just one of them.

Internal conflict predominantly arises between the unconscious and conscious spheres of mental activity, what is desired and what is necessary, and what is socially approved. The unconscious, by its nature, knows no prohibitions; it understands only the language of desires, instincts and selfish interest. The conscious (namely, the superego) is the result of the social nature of man; it contains all the rules and values ​​accepted from society. The conflict between these two spheres of mental activity leads to a “life and death” war, where excess energy from the “battle” between them can “result” in somatic symptoms. For example, in the case of a conflict of sexual desires and conscious censure of what is desired, victory over desire can lead to the emergence of “clamps” in the pelvic area, disorders of the genital organs, etc.

1. Punishment

A psychosomatic disorder can also be an act of self-punishment if it is based on a feeling of guilt. For example, psychologists consider “chronic” accident proneness to be a psychosomatic response to feelings of guilt. Of course, such a statement is extremely difficult to prove, but it is not without meaning. Thus, experiencing guilt, a person at an unconscious level may want to punish himself and commits actions that lead to constant injuries.

In any case, guilt is a negative, destructive feeling directed inside the subject of the experience, and therefore it leads to both a state of discomfort and the occurrence of psychosomatic disorders.

1. Psychological trauma

The cause of psychosomatic disorders is sometimes psychological trauma - a painful childhood experience or grief from the loss of a loved one. In the first case, the cause of the disease is old experiences, any unresolved past experience that carries a negative emotional connotation. The task of psychotherapy in this case is to “free” this experience, giving it awareness and an emotional “out”.

In situations of loss of a loved one, psychotherapy can only help by accompanying the person on his path of awareness and reconciliation with the loss.

1. Suggestion

If there is a constant belief in something from the outside, infantile and suggestible individuals can believe in it so much that the suggested thought begins to manifest itself at the somatic level. For example, someone may often tease a child, constantly calling him “greedy” or “selfish.” As a result, the child may experience constipation (as an attempt to keep everything inside), even if he did not have this before.

1. Self-hypnosis

The idea of ​​the “materiality” of ideas and words no longer sparkles with novelty; it will no longer surprise anyone. But is anyone truly guided by this principle? It is unlikely, and proof of this is the emergence of many somatic disorders based on suggestion.

Sometimes we can simply program our body for self-destruction by constantly repeating phrases like “this problem gives me hemorrhoids,” “my brain is swollen from this work.” Of course, the body will not immediately “press” the “red button” of destruction every time after such phrases, but, in the end, it may give in under the pressure of self-hypnosis.

1. Secondary benefit

As absurd as it may sound, some diseases turn out to be beneficial for their carriers. For example, a sick father of a family is no longer obliged to go to a hated job, and begins to receive a double portion of love and care from his household, etc. Moreover, the secondary benefit from the disease is derived unconsciously, but on a conscious level the patient understands the need for recovery. One way or another, it is in such cases that disorders are most difficult to treat, since it is not possible to overcome the unconscious resistance to recovery on the part of the patient.

In this case, the danger of blindly imitating one’s idols is manifested - by inheriting someone else in everything, a person forgets about his own body, which tries to “bring back” the person through pain. Therefore, you should not perceive your own body only as a slave of desires, otherwise illness will become the price of such alienation.

Psychosomatics: treatment and types of psychosomatic disorders

There are three main groups of psychosomatic diseases:

If we talk about the treatment of psychosomatic disorders, the main task is to identify the underlying root cause of the disease. This knowledge leads to an awareness of the “necessity” of the disease, an understanding of what it became the answer to.

In the process of treating these disorders, the help of not only a psychiatrist, but also a psychologist and psychotherapist is needed, who will help to understand the underlying conflicts, the causes of psychosomatic symptoms, and also form a healthier reaction to life’s difficulties.

Psychosomatic disorders are conditions that can create an imbalance in a person’s life and affect his well-being. Various types of diseases accompany a person throughout his life. Some of them are associated with the action of external factors that have a negative impact on the body. Others are a consequence of the presence of any internal pathologies that provoke a painful condition. However, there is another type of ailment that is not associated with such factors and appears seemingly for no apparent reason.

Psychosomatic diseases are a special category of ailments that arise and develop as a result of the interaction of certain psychological and physiological factors. In most cases, under the influence of various factors that influence the psyche, a somatic disorder is formed that can cause the development of a real disease.

Such a development of events is diagnosed quite often, but there are cases when a diametrically opposite picture is observed, and a minor physical illness, supported by psychological factors, takes on new outlines and intensity. In general, such disorders are some kind of mental disorder and have absolutely no real problem behind them. As a rule, the first examination confirms the presence of a fictitious disease that does not require treatment.

The formation of similar disorders can occur under the influence of many factors that leave their mark on a person’s personal qualities. Under the influence of experienced stress, the brain projects its consequences onto its own behavior, building a kind of barrier. This is exactly how similar disorders develop, which have absolutely no real cause other than psychological problems.

Education factors

Psychosomatic disorders can have many causes: from stress experienced in childhood to banal problems at work. In most cases, it is social factors that become determining and lead to certain psychological problems, which are expressed in the form of somatic reactions. At the same time, their goal is to avoid the consequences of a previously experienced negative incident. In general, most often such diseases are a response to the following factors and conditions that determine a person’s personal qualities:

• heredity;
• mental characteristics;
• parental influence;
• systematic state of stress;
• overwork;
• various anxieties and experiences;
• the influence of bad habits.

The above reasons may be the main factor in the formation of psychosomatic personality disorders. Moreover, their combination significantly complicates the course of the fictitious disease, making its form more severe and its manifestations more intense.

Causes

The reasons for the development of psychosomatic disorders can be varied and multifaceted. However, in world medical practice there is a certain classification of factors that contribute to the occurrence of such problems. They differ depending on the motives for the formation of the disease and lie in the psychological state of the person. They look like this:

• benefit and motivation;
• personality conflict;
• experienced negative experience;
• extraneous suggestion;
• self-hypnosis;
• identification with another person;
• self-flagellation.

All these factors best describe the structure of the problem and classify the reasons for its development. Thus, in order to achieve a certain social advantage or momentary superiority, the body is pierced by an attack of pain associated with a non-existent illness. A conflict between facets of one personality that are in constant opposition, or an extraneous suggestion about the presence of an unreal disease can also play a role and be a positive factor for the emergence of a psychosomatic disorder.

Psychosomatic diseases in children

Such problems develop not only in adults, but also in children. As a rule, the causes of these disorders are quite extensive. Sometimes even the smallest little thing can become the starting point in the formation of a problem. A similar state of affairs is associated with the imperfection of the child’s body and its increased susceptibility to various factors that influence it. In most cases, problems in the family are reflected in the development of a psychosomatic disorder in the child, who most acutely absorbs them and projects them onto his own personality. The most common causes of such problems affecting the psychology of children are the following factors:

• unhealthy atmosphere in the family;
• problems communicating with peers;
• anxiety for one's own health;
• fear of being alone.

It is these experiences that have the greatest impact on the child. At the same time, there are still a huge number of reasons why a similar disorder can develop. As a rule, they are associated with the individual characteristics of the little person’s body and his sensitivity to the surrounding world, which is especially acute.

Varieties

Today, there is a certain classification that allows us to most accurately understand the main cause of the formation of psychosomatic disorders and provide their optimal treatment.

All the variety of factors leading to the development of such problems fit into three main criteria that describe them. They look like this:

• conversion;
• functional;
• psychomatosis.

Conversion symptoms represent painful sensations that are not supported by physical factors. Moreover, their formation occurs on a purely subconscious level in response to the action of oppressive factors. As a rule, the pain does not have a clear localization and can periodically occur in different places. Most often it appears in the limbs or chest area, but over time it gradually goes away, changing its location.

Functional signs are expressed in disruption of the functioning of any organs or systems of the body. They arise against the background of a secondary somatic reaction formed by the action of psychological factors. Moreover, such manifestations have a clear localization, affecting a specific organ or system. However, upon examination of this area, the diagnosis is not confirmed, which to some extent calms the person, and the disease recedes on its own.

Psychomatoses

Psychomatoses form the largest group, formed from quite specific conditions that are a consequence of conflict experiences. They are based on a bodily reaction, supported by psychological problems, which is expressed in pathological disorders and changes in organs. Today, psychosomatic disorders of this type most often imitate and contribute to the real development of the following diseases:

• diabetes mellitus type 2;
• bronchial asthma;
• obesity;
• ulcerative colitis;
• arterial hypertension;
• neurodermatitis;
• arthritis;
• ulcerative lesions of the stomach;
• thyrotoxicosis;
• cardiac ischemia.

Moreover, in the initial stages of development of the disorder there is no real disease, but only its manifestations that have a psychological background. However, with further progression of the problem and inaction on the part of the person, psychomatosis can cause the emergence of a real disease that can cause serious harm to human health.

Symptoms

Symptoms of psychosomatic illness may vary depending on the underlying illness being simulated. However, in some they are mild, which implies the initial stages of the disorder. In other cases, their intensity increases sharply, which is a reflection of more serious stages of development of a person’s psychological instability. The main manifestation of any such illness is the presence of pain that accompanies each type of disorder. They are its most striking sign, provoking a worsening of the situation and the appearance of new symptoms that develop against the background of the initial manifestation. In general, psychosomatic problems are characterized by the following symptoms:

• pain;
• increased heart rate;
• heaviness in the arms and legs;
• chills;
• nausea;
• dyspnea;
• stomach upset;
• weakness;
• fast fatiguability;
• dizziness;
• numbness of the limbs.

Each of these symptoms and their manifestations characterize the presence of certain mental problems inherent in a person. At the same time, additional manifestations inherent in one or another fictitious illness that a person suffers from at a given time may be added to such signs.

Treatment Basics

Treatment of psychosomatic disorders is based on the use of an integrated approach. It is not based on the action of any medications or techniques, but on psychological assistance, which is necessary in such a situation. When testing is carried out, the initial diagnosis is not confirmed, and the patient is not prescribed a traditional set of medications and prescriptions for procedures, but is referred to a psychologist. It is psychotherapy for psychosomatic disorders that is the basis for the treatment of such problems. In turn, the work of a psychologist is aimed at making a person aware of the existing problem that served as the impetus for the formation of negative manifestations. As a rule, it is this part of the treatment that is the most labor-intensive and long-term, since it requires enormous efforts from the patient and a detailed analysis of his behavior, as well as personality characteristics.

In some cases, it is possible to use additional motivational measures designed to show a person his capabilities, which he had not previously suspected, hiding behind non-existent diseases. Such means include various sporting events and entertainment programs in which a person directly participates. Only full awareness of the problem and its acceptance is the starting point for the beginning of the healing process, which will inevitably occur in the future and will enable a person to fully enjoy life.

Conclusion on the topic

Psychosomatic disorders and their formation are the result of any problems that have left their mark on a person’s personality. At the same time, there are some factors that provoke the development of such diseases, which lie in the characteristics of a person’s character and the combination of external factors affecting his psyche. The structure of the manifestations of such diseases directly depends on the ailment that the human brain projects, and their intensity depends on the degree of his psychological problems. Based on this, therapy for psychosomatic disorders is based on the use of complex effects, the basis of which is the work of a psychologist.

Psychosomatics(from the Greek psyche - soul and soma - body) - a section of medical psychology that studies mental factors in the development of functional and organic somatic disorders.

Psychosomatic medicine gained rapid spread and development at the beginning of the 20th century. At this time, millions of cases were recorded of so-called “functional” patients, “difficult patients”, whose somatic complaints were not confirmed by objective research, and whose treatment with orthodox medications was ineffective. First of all, it was necessary to correct affective states that affected the interpersonal relationships of patients, that is, psychotherapy, psychological counseling.

Among changes in somatic well-being due to emotional influence, one should distinguish between non-pathological psychosomatic reactions, psychosomatic diseases, the influence of the emotional state on the occurrence and course of somatic diseases, and somatoform mental disorders.

In the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition, the term “psychosomatic” is not used in relation to any diseases, so as not to create the impression that psychosomatic relationships may not be significant in other disorders.

The psychosomatic approach as a principle of therapeutic activity presupposes a holistic perception of the sick person, with all his personal characteristics, cultural norms and values, biological hereditary and constitutional characteristics, environmental influences and interpersonal relationships. At the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries, the biopsychosocial concept of disease, which is based on the principles of multifactoriality in understanding the causes of the onset and course of the disease, is becoming increasingly recognized in medicine. Thus, the psychosomatic approach is practically generally acceptable today.

Psychosomatic diseases arise as a result of stress caused by long-term and insurmountable psychotraumas, internal conflict between the individual’s motives of equal intensity, but differently directed. It is assumed that some types of motivational conflicts are specific to certain forms of psychosomatic diseases. Thus, hypertension is associated with the presence of a conflict between high social control of behavior and the individual’s unfulfilled need for power. An unfulfilled need causes aggressiveness, which a person cannot demonstrate through social attitudes. Moreover, unlike neuroses, which are also based on intrapsychic conflict, with psychosomatic diseases there is a double repression - not only of a motive unacceptable to consciousness, but also of neurotic anxiety and all neurotic behavior.

There is a close system of somatopsychic and psychosomatic relationships that must be recognized and taken into account in the treatment of the patient. When considering the relationship between somatic and mental states, it is advisable to distinguish the following types:

1. Psychological factors as the cause of somatic illness (actually psychosomatic illnesses).

2. Mental disorders manifested by somatic symptoms (somatoform disorders).

3 Mental consequences of somatic illness (including psychological reaction to the fact of somatic illness).

4 Mental disorder and physical illness, coincidentally coincidental in time.

5. Somatic complications of mental disorders.

Psychological factors play a role in the formation of various diseases, such as migraines, endocrine disorders, malignant neoplasms, etc. Among them, real psychosomatosis should be distinguished, the occurrence of which is determined by mental factors and the prevention of which should be aimed primarily at eliminating and correcting emotional overstrain (psychotherapy and psychopharmacology ), and other diseases on the dynamics of which mental and behavioral factors have an important influence, changing the nonspecific resistance of the body, but are not the root cause of their occurrence. For example, it is known that the influence of psycho-emotional stress can reduce immune reactivity, which will increase the likelihood of diseases, including infectious ones.

Representatives of psychoanalysis approach the explanation of psychosomatic pathology, focusing on the predominance in patients with psychosomatic symptoms of repression of emotional experiences (a protective psychological mechanism that manifests itself in the subconscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or emotions from consciousness), which then manifest themselves as somatic symptoms. However, this ignores organic pathology, and in practice one cannot neglect the fact that patients develop organic lesions over time, and after the onset of the disease, psychotherapy alone is not enough, but appropriate treatment using modern pharmacological agents, and sometimes surgical assistance, is necessary.

A scientific explanation of psychosomatic relationships is possible on the basis of the conditioned reflex theory of I.P. Pavlova. Russian neurophysiologist P.K. Anokhin developed the biological theory of functional systems - the concept of organizing processes in an entire organism that interacts with the environment. The theory is based on the idea of ​​function as the organism achieving an adaptive result in interactions with the environment. In the light of this theory, any emotional reaction is considered as an integral functional system that unites the cerebral cortex, subcortical formations and corresponding somatic links.

From the standpoint of neurophysiology, emotional processes involve both central (thalamus, limbic system, activation and reward structures) and peripheral structures (catecholamines, adrenal hormones, autonomic nervous system). Stimuli of excessive strength and duration alter the functional state of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. This can result in functional impairments and so-called “places of least resistance” (locus minoris resistentiae). There is a system of constant feedback that determines the possibility of therapeutic, healing effects of the emotional factor.

An unresolved conflict of motives (as well as unresolved stress) ultimately gives rise to a reaction of capitulation, a refusal to search, which creates the most common precondition for the development of psychosomatic diseases in the form of masked depression. The defeat of certain organs and systems is caused by genetic factors or features of ontogenetic development.

The importance of the doctor’s understanding of the essence of protective psychological mechanisms requires a brief description of them in this section. Defense mechanisms are divided into primitive, or immature (splitting, projection, idealization, identification), and more mature (sublimation, rationalization, etc.). However, neither the number of protection options (several dozen of them are described), nor their classification, nor their names are generally accepted.

One group combines defense options that reduce the level of anxiety, but do not change the nature of the impulses. These include: suppression or repression from awareness of unacceptable motives or feelings, negation the source or feeling of anxiety itself; projection or transference of one's desires or feelings onto others; identification- imitation of another person with attribution of his qualities to oneself; inhibition- blocking in behavior and consciousness all manifestations associated with anxiety.

Another group includes forms of defense in which mechanisms are triggered that reduce the severity of anxiety and at the same time change the direction of impulses: self-aggression- turning hostility towards oneself; reversion- polar reversal, or a change in motives and feelings to the opposite; regression- reduction, or return to early, childhood forms of response; sublimation- transformation of unacceptable ways of satisfying needs into other forms - for example, in the form of creativity in art or science.

Let's consider 9 main forms of psychological defense, regardless of their classification.

1. crowding out. Repression means suppression or exclusion from consciousness of unpleasant or unacceptable events and phenomena, i.e., removal from consciousness of those moments and information that cause anxiety. With neuroses, for example, the main event that caused it is often repressed. Such psychological experiments are interesting in this regard. The subjects were given photographs that depicted specific conflict situations that were close to their experiences. It was expected that the subjects would tell their contents, but they seemed to “forget” these photographs and put them aside. When the corresponding photographs were reproduced in a situation of hypnosis, the protection was removed and the photographs produced an effect adequate to their content. A similar defense mechanism underlies the widespread phenomenon when other people's shortcomings in behavior are noticed, and their own are repressed. In other experiments, subjects were offered tests to achieve a certain success in performing a particular task; they remembered only those tasks that they completed well, and “forgot”, i.e., crowded out uncompleted tasks.

2. Substitution- reorientation from one object (topic) causing anxiety and unpleasant experiences to another. This version of psychological defense can be represented by the following simple examples. After a conflict with a boss at work or a quarrel with a loved one, an individual unleashes anger on family members (this often involves rationalization, which will be discussed below). A man crumples a piece of paper during an exciting conversation. A girl, when her friend says “your boyfriend always lets you down,” throws away the cat sitting on her lap.

3. Rationalization. In this case, we are talking about an attempt to rationally justify desires and actions caused by such a reason, the recognition of which would threaten the loss of self-esteem. There can be many examples here. If a stingy person is asked for a loan, he will always justify why he cannot lend (for educational reasons, etc.); if a person is unpleasant, then it is always easy to find a lot of shortcomings in him, although hostility may not be associated with them at all; The patient may explain his interest in medical literature by the need to broaden his horizons.

4. Projection. Defense in the form of projection is the unconscious transference of one’s own unacceptable feelings and drives to another person, attributing one’s socially unapproved impulses, desires, motives, actions and qualities to others. A striking example of this is the behavior of a wealthy young man who places his mother in a nursing home and is indignant that the staff treats her indifferently or poorly.

Projection to a certain extent simplifies behavior, eliminating the need in everyday life to evaluate one’s actions every time. We often transfer our behavior onto other people, projecting our emotions onto them. If a person is calm, self-confident, and friendly, then in his eyes those around him share his goodwill, and vice versa - a tense, frustrated person, dissatisfied in his desires, is hostile and attributes and projects this hostility to others.

5. Somatization. This form of protection is expressed in getting out of a difficult situation by fixating on the state of one’s health (schoolchildren “get sick” before tests - the simplest example). In these cases, the main importance is the benefit from the disease - increased attention and reduced demands from loved ones. In more severe cases, this form of protection takes on a chronic nature, and, as a rule, there is an exaggerated attention to one’s health, an exaggeration of the severity of the disease, even to the point of creating one’s own concepts of the disease, and a hypochondriacal syndrome can form.

6. Reactive education. In this case, we are talking about replacing unacceptable trends with the exact opposite. Thus, rejected love is often expressed in hatred of the former object of love, boys try to offend the girls they like, secret envious people often quite sincerely consider themselves among the devoted admirers of the one they envy.

7. Sublimation. With this form of psychological defense, unacceptable impulses are transformed into socially acceptable forms of instinctive needs that cannot be realized in an acceptable way out and way of expression (for example, childless people have animals). In this regard, a hobby is of interest, which for some is a way of realizing the most incredible motives and drives. Selfish and even “forbidden” goals can be sublimated by active activity in art, literature, religion, and science.

Aggressive impulses, for example, can be sublimated into sports or political activity. But we are talking about psychological defense itself when the individual does not realize that his activity is determined by hidden impulses, which sometimes have a biological and egoistic basis.

8. Regression. In this case, we are talking about a return to primitive forms of response and behavior. This form of psychological defense manifests itself especially often in children. For example, when deprived of parents, children often exhibit behavior consistent with developmental delay: a child who began to walk suddenly stops walking, or the child resumes enuresis that occurred in infancy. We can also mention the habit of thumb sucking in difficult situations (this feature sometimes manifests itself not only in children, but also in adults). Elements of psychological defense in the form of regression can also be observed in some mental illnesses.

9. Negation. This form of defense is a defense mechanism by which impossible desires, motives and intentions, as well as facts and actions are not recognized, rejected by unconsciously denying their existence, i.e., in denial, the real phenomenon is considered non-existent. It should be emphasized, however, that denial does not involve a conscious attempt to renounce or retreat, as in pretense, simulation, or lying.

In everyday life, most real situations often involve the use of several forms of psychological defense simultaneously. This must be taken into account when a doctor works with both healthy and sick people.

The mechanisms of psychological defense outlined above are part of psychological adaptation processes. Adaptation is a property of any living self-regulating system, which determines its resistance to environmental changes. Highlight physiological, psychological, social adaptation of the individual. Violation of adaptation to environmental conditions is called maladjustment . Adverse external influences (stress) that exceed adaptation capabilities are called distress.

In response to psycho-emotional stimuli, various non-pathological psychosomatic reactions arise (visceral, sensory, etc.). Psychosomatic reactions can occur not only in response to mental, emotionally significant influences, but also to the direct effects of stimuli (for example, the sight of a lemon). Ideas can also influence a person’s somatic state. Psycho-emotional factors can cause the following physiological disorders in various organs and systems of the body:

a) in the cardiovascular system - increased heart rate, changes in blood pressure, vascular spasm;

b) in the respiratory system - its delay, slowdown or acceleration;

c) in the digestive tract - vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, increased salivation, dry mouth;

d) in the sexual sphere - increased erection, weakness of erection, swelling of the clitoris and lubrication (secretion of the genital organs), anorgasmia;

e) in the muscles – involuntary reactions: muscle tension, trembling;

f) in the autonomic system - sweating, hyperemia, etc.

Psychosomatic diseases - these are somatic diseases, in the occurrence and course of which psychological factors play a decisive role. The cause of psychosomatosis is affective (emotional) stress (conflicts, dissatisfaction, anger, fear, anxiety, etc.) subject to the presence of certain personal characteristics. These diseases are often called “major” psychosomatic diseases, emphasizing the severity of the disease and the leading role of the psychogenic factor in their occurrence.

Actually psychosomatic diseases are characterized by the following features:

Mental stress is decisive in provoking;

After manifestation, the disease takes a chronic or recurrent course;

First appearance at any age (but more often in late adolescence).

Historically, the classic pictures of seven diseases are classified as psychosomatic, namely: essential hypertension; peptic ulcer; bronchial asthma; neurodermatitis; thyrotoxicosis; ulcerative colitis; rheumatoid arthritis.

Characteristics of psychosomatic disorders.

The search for psychological characteristics responsible for the occurrence of psychosomatic diseases has today led to the description of characterological traits that are found in different combinations in patients with different diseases. These are traits such as isolation, restraint, anxiety, sensitivity, etc. Below are some features of patients with certain psychosomatic disorders.

Hypertension (essential arterial hypertension). The main properties of a personality prone to the formation of essential hypertension are considered to be intrapersonal conflict, interpersonal tension between aggressive impulses, on the one hand, and a feeling of dependence, on the other. The appearance of hypertension is due to the desire to openly express hostility with a simultaneous need for passive and adaptive behavior. This conflict can be characterized as a conflict between such contradictory personal aspirations as a simultaneous focus on directness, honesty and frankness in communication and politeness, courtesy and avoidance of conflicts. Under stress, such a person tends to restrain his own irritability and suppress the desire to respond to the offender. Suppressing negative emotions in a person during a period of stress, accompanied by a natural increase in blood pressure, can worsen a person’s general condition and even contribute to the development of a stroke.

When examining the mental state of patients with arterial hypertension in combination with daily blood pressure monitoring, it was revealed that at the early stage of arterial hypertension after an increase in blood pressure in patients, there is a decrease in the level of anxiety, which confirms the compensatory role of a rise in blood pressure due to prolonged psycho-emotional stress.

In the initial stage of hypertension, most patients adequately assess their health status and correctly perceive the doctor’s recommendations and prescriptions. Some patients with anxious and suspicious traits perceive an increase in blood pressure as a tragedy, a catastrophe. The mood of such patients is reduced, attention is fixed on sensations, the range of interests is narrowed, limited to the disease.

In another group of patients, the diagnosis of hypertension will not cause any reaction; they ignore the disease and refuse treatment. This attitude towards the disease is observed mainly in people who abuse alcohol.

It should be noted that there is no parallelism between the level of blood pressure (BP) and the likelihood of developing mental disorders. When examining the mental state of patients with arterial hypertension in combination with 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, for the first time, indicators of 24-hour blood pressure monitoring were established that are significant in relation to the prognosis of the development of mental disorders in this disease. These are high variability of blood pressure during the day and disruption of the circadian rhythm of blood pressure fluctuations: increased or absent physiological nighttime decrease in blood pressure levels.

A patient with hypertension should explain the cause of his condition, say that his nervous system disorders are of a functional nature, that they are temporary and with appropriate systematic treatment, the affected function will be restored.

Cardiac ischemia. For many years, emotional stress was thought to predispose to coronary heart disease. The literature describes a “coronal personality.” These types of ideas are difficult to test because only prospective studies can separate the psychological factors that contribute to the development of heart disease from the psychological consequences of the disease itself. Research conducted in the 1980s focused on several groups of possible risk factors, which included chronic emotional disorders, socioeconomic difficulties, overwork or other long-term aggressors, and type A behavior patterns. Most supported There is evidence of a Type A behavior pattern, which is characterized by such basic traits as hostility, excessive desire for competition, ambition, a constant feeling of lack of time and a focus on restrictions and prohibitions. When conducting studies on primary and secondary prevention, the main approach was to eliminate risk factors such as smoking, poor diet, and insufficient physical activity.

Angina pectoris . Angina attacks are often triggered by emotions such as anxiety, anger and agitation. The sensations experienced during an attack are at times extremely terrifying, and often the patient becomes overly cautious over time, despite all the assurances of the doctors and despite their efforts to encourage him to return to his normal active lifestyle. Angina may be accompanied by atypical chest pain and shortness of breath caused by anxiety or hyperventilation. In many cases, there is a discrepancy between the patient's actual exercise capacity, as determined by objective measurements, and their complaints of chest pain and activity limitation.

A good effect in overcoming these problems is usually achieved by conservative treatment in combination with regular physical exercises appropriate to the patient’s condition. Some patients are helped to regain self-confidence by behavioral therapy, carried out according to an individually developed program.

Cardiophobia. One of the psychovegetative syndromes that is often observed in medical practice is cardiophobia. Discomfort and unusual sensations in the left half of the chest, which first arise in a situation that is psychologically traumatic or even in its absence after prolonged asthenia, determine the increasing anxiety and vigilance of patients, fixation on the activity of the heart, which increases confidence in the presence of a serious heart disease and fear of death. At first, vague concern and growing affective tension, anxiety, suspicion, fears, constitutional, as well as acquired personality characteristics become the basis for the development of an acute cardiophobic attack. The unbearable, vital fear that patients feel in connection with cardiovascular disorders cannot be compared with ordinary human sensations and experiences, either in their intensity or in their nature. The feeling of imminent death becomes the only existing reality for the patient. And the obvious fact that dozens of similar heart attacks he had previously suffered did not lead to either a heart attack or heart failure does not matter to him. Since it has long been known that it is scary not to die - it is scary to die, the fate of these patients who “die” repeatedly is truly tragic. Here rational psychotherapy and suggestion are of particular importance. In some cases, even the patient’s life depends on their correct use by doctors.

Dyspnea, which is caused by many respiratory and cardiac disorders, may increase under the influence of psychological factors. In some cases, shortness of breath is purely psychological in origin: a typical example is hyperventilation associated with an anxiety disorder.

Asthma. It has been suggested that asthma is caused by unresolved emotional conflicts associated with subordinate relationships, but there is no satisfactory evidence to support this idea. In bronchial asthma, there are contradictions between the “desire for tenderness” and the “fear of tenderness.” This conflict is described as a “own-give” conflict. People suffering from bronchial asthma often have hysterical or hypochondriacal character traits, but they are not able to “release their anger into the air,” which provokes attacks of suffocation. Also noted is a quality of asthmatics such as hypersensitivity, especially to odors, which is associated with reduced accuracy.

Compelling evidence suggests that emotions such as anger, fear and agitation can trigger and increase individual attacks in patients with asthma. The literature has reported that children who had severe asthma and died from the disease were more likely to have chronic psychological and family problems than other children with severe asthma.

Mental morbidity among children with asthma is not much higher than among the general child population. However, if such children develop psychological problems, then treatment, as a rule, becomes significantly more complicated.

Attempts have been made to treat asthma using psychotherapy and behavioral therapy, but there is no convincing evidence that these methods are more effective than simple advice and support. Individual and family psychotherapy may be beneficial in treating children with asthma where psychological factors are important.

Gastritis. In patients with gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, a unique character is formed in early childhood, leading to the fact that the individual experiences a constant need for protection, support and care in adulthood. At the same time, he is simultaneously instilled with respect for the strength, autonomy and independence that he strives for. As a result, there is a clash of two mutually exclusive needs (care and independence), which leads to an insoluble conflict.

Peptic ulcer . People who get peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum have certain characterological characteristics. Among them there are often people with violent emotional reactions, categorical judgments, and straightforwardness in assessing the actions of others. Another category of patients is not prone to external manifestations of emotions. Often there are gloomy, dissatisfied, distrustful people. Some authors associate peptic ulcer disease with an unacceptable need for protection and intercession for self-perception.

Strong prolonged affects, negative emotions, such as constant fear, great grief, severe fright with overstrain and depletion of cortical activity can lead to prolonged spasm of the blood vessels of the stomach wall, with reduced resistance of its mucous membrane to the action of hyperacid gastric juice, leading to the occurrence of ulcers . The further development of peptic ulcer disease depends both on the action of these factors, which does not stop, and on the occurrence of pain impulses from the interoreceptors of the affected organ. Psychotherapy greatly influences the course of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment.

Colitis. In ulcerative colitis, the onset of the disease is observed after experiences of “loss of an object” and “catastrophes of experience.” Patients have low self-esteem, excessive sensitivity to their own failures and a strong desire for dependence and guardianship. Illness is often seen as the equivalent of sadness.

Diabetes . The personality of a patient with diabetes is described as necessarily including a feeling of chronic dissatisfaction. However, it is believed that, unlike representatives of other psychosomatic diseases, there is no specific diabetic personality type.

Neurodermatitis. Neurodermatitis of psychosomatic origin includes eczema and psoriasis. Patients are often characterized by passivity and find it difficult to assert themselves.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system. For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the patient’s “frozen and exaggerated position” and demonstration of a high level of self-control are considered specific. There is also a tendency towards self-sacrifice and an exaggerated willingness to help others. At the same time, “aggressive coloring of assistance” is noted.

Principles of prevention of psychosomatic diseases

Therapeutic tactics in the treatment of psychosomatic diseases include the main role of somatologists and appropriate methods of therapy. However, psychotherapy plays an important role in preventing the occurrence of these diseases and at all stages of treatment and rehabilitation. In the prevention of psychosomatic diseases, an important role is played by the timely identification of personal predisposition and the conduct of long-term person-oriented psychotherapy with the help of a psychotherapist. General practitioners and family medicine doctors must master themselves and teach patients the skills of mental self-regulation, autogenic training for the purpose of mobilization or relaxation in stressful situations.

Another approach is applied to the treatment of neurotic and somatoform disorders, when the patient’s somatic complaints are associated with functional somatic disorders, the main cause of which is mental illness. In these cases, treatment is carried out by a psychiatrist using psychotherapy and psychopharmacotherapy.

Health

All diseases are caused by nerves, doctors say. The Indians believed that we were sick from unfulfilled desires.

People get sick from anger, greed, envy, as well as from unfulfilled dreams and unfulfilled desires.

Is this really how it is?, to whom and why the disease comes, psychosomatics will tell.

Psychosomatics of diseases

Psychosomatics is a field in medicine and psychology that studies the influence of psychological factors on the occurrence of somatic, that is, bodily, human diseases.

Experts study the connection between the characteristics of what kind of person (his constitutional characteristics, character traits and behavior, temperament, emotionality) and specific bodily ailments.

According to followers of so-called alternative medicine, all our diseases begin due to psychological inconsistencies and disorders originating in our soul, subconscious and thoughts.

For example, experts call bronchial asthma as one of the most typical diseases associated with psychosomatics. This means that the occurrence of asthma is based on certain psychological reasons.

Psychosomatic diseases

So, as has already become clear, psychosomatic diseases are those diseases that arise due to psychological factors, as a result of stressful situations, nervous breakdowns, worries or worries.

Thus, psychosomatic diseases are caused, first of all, by certain mental processes in the patient’s head, and not at all physiological, as most of us believe.

If specialists during a medical examination cannot identify the physical or organic cause of a particular illness, then such an illness falls under the category of psychosomatic diseases.

As a rule, they occur due to anger, anxiety, and depression. Guilt often contributes to the occurrence of psychosomatic illnesses.

The list of such ailments also includes irritable bowel syndrome, essential arterial hypertension, headaches, dizziness associated with stressful situations, as well as a number of other diseases.

It is also necessary to mention autonomic disorders associated with panic attacks. Somatic diseases caused by psychogenic factors fall into the category of psychosomatic disorders.

However, scientists are also studying a parallel area - the influence of somatic diseases on the human psyche.

Psychosomatics according to Freud

The fact that the internal state of the soul can influence the general physical tone and condition of the human body has been known since ancient times.

In Greek philosophy and medicine it was believed that the human body depends on the soul.

The founder of the term “psychosomatic” is the doctor Johann Christian Heinroth (Heinroth). It was he who first used this term in 1818.

In the early and mid-20th century, this area of ​​medicine became widespread. Such psychological geniuses as Smith Jeliffe, F. Dunbar, E. Weiss, as well as other eminent psychoanalysts, whose name in itself is authoritative, worked in this area.

The famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud studied psychosomatic diseases in detail.

It was he who gave the world the famous theory of the “unconscious” as a product of repression.

As a result, as mentioned earlier, some quite serious diseases fell into the category of “hysterical” or “psychosomatic”.

We are talking about the following ailments: bronchial asthma, allergies, imaginary pregnancy, headache and migraine.

Freud himself said the following: “If we drive some problem through the door, then it enters through the window in the form of a symptom of illness.” Thus, a person cannot avoid the disease if he does not solve the problem, but simply ignores it.

Psychosomatics is based on the psychological defense mechanism – repression. This means approximately the following: each of us tries to drive away thoughts that are unpleasant to him.

As a result, we simply brush aside problems rather than solve them. We don't analyze problems because we are afraid to look them in the eye and confront them directly. It’s much easier to close your eyes to them and try not to think about unpleasant things.

Unfortunately, problems repressed in this way do not disappear, but simply move to another level.

What exactly will this level be?

All our problems ultimately transform from the social level (that is, interpersonal relationships) or psychological (unfulfilled desires, our dreams and aspirations, suppressed emotions, any internal conflicts) to the level of our physiology.

As a result, the human body takes the brunt of the blow. It begins to hurt and suffer from very real ailments.

Psychosomatics and bioenergetics

Researchers in the field of bioenergy agree with psychoanalysts that psychological factors are to blame for all our somatic diseases.

From a scientific point of view, it all looks something like this:

All a person’s problems, his anxieties, worries, worries, as well as long-term ongoing depression and nervous breakdowns wear away at the body from the inside. As a result, he becomes defenseless in the face of dangers in the form of diseases.

His body becomes vulnerable and unable to deal with dangers from the outside: viruses and microbes attack the body weakened by stress and experiences, and he is unable to resist them.

From the point of view of bioenergy, everything looks similar, with the only difference being that experts in this field say the following:

Shattered nerves, a weak and stressed-out human psyche wears away at him from the inside, destroying his aura. As a result of such a violation, cracks and sometimes even holes form in the aura, through which various diseases penetrate.

Experts even compiled a list in the form of a table, in which they indicated which psychological factor contributes to a particular disease.

It is important here that we can and should mention self-hypnosis, which has an amazing effect. It is self-hypnosis that plays an important role in a person’s consciousness and his perception of certain things.

Have you ever paid attention to those who never get sick?

When a person is endowed with nerves of steel, he knows how to cope with nervous breakdowns. He manages to resist prolonged depression. As a rule, he easily tolerates diseases or does not get sick at all.

But a suspicious person, on the contrary, is regularly susceptible to various diseases. He gets sick extremely often, and even if he doesn’t have an illness, he will certainly invent one for himself.

For example, it is logical if bad or stale food causes stomach pain. A suspicious person will decide that he has an ulcer.

It’s a paradox, but if he really believes in this, then this same ulcer will definitely arise. After all, with his thoughts he attracts disease. About the same thing happens to those people who are always “sick” with acute respiratory infections.

Therefore, in order to avoid various illnesses, especially serious ones, you need to not let bad thoughts overcome you, drive them away from yourself and do not attract illness.

By not allowing negative thoughts to take over your mind, and by focusing solely on your health and inner strength, you can stay healthy for many years to come. After all, the power of positive thinking, says psychosomatics, can work miracles.

Remember also that our thoughts are material.

This applies to both positive aspects of life and negative ones. You can attract both financial well-being and destruction and illness.

Causes of psychosomatics

So, if we put aside physiological reasons, as well as genetic predisposition to diseases, experts in the field of psychosomatics identify the following causes of diseases:

Stress and experienced mental trauma (primarily childhood trauma).

This may include experiences of disasters, combat, the loss of a loved one, and other situations that can affect a person’s mental state.

Internal conflicts, which include depression, anger, fear, feelings of envy or guilt.

If we delve deeper into these points, we can also highlight the following reasons underlying psychosomatic diseases:

Reason No. 1. Chronic stress and constant emotional tension

As mentioned above, stress is indeed the “No. 1 cause” of all human diseases living in the modern world.

Residents of large cities are especially susceptible to stressful situations. By and large, the life of every young able-bodied person is one continuous stress.

Misunderstandings with colleagues, bosses, quarrels in the family, conflicts with neighbors and others - all this contributes to the fact that we feel overwhelmed and dissatisfied. Stressful situations can also include traffic in big cities, which results in lateness to work, chronic lack of time, constant rush, and information overload.

And the lack of sleep and rest only contributes to the fact that, accumulating, this stress destroys our body.

All these factors are constant companions of our lives, without which, however, few people imagine life in the 21st century.

However, it is worth clarifying: there is nothing criminal in stress itself. Stress is not the most pleasant physiological state in which we feel a certain excitement, similar to the state when we are on high alert. Our psyche and entire body are ready to repel an attack from the outside.

However, stress should act as an emergency mode in case of emergency situations. The thing is that this very emergency mode is triggered too often. Sometimes this happens against the will of the person himself.

Imagine: if a system operates uninterruptedly in emergency mode, sooner or later it will fail, fail, and something will certainly break in this system.

The same thing happens to the human body: if it is constantly exposed to stress, the nerves cannot stand it, and physical and psychological exhaustion occurs. As a result, the body’s rhythm is disrupted, and internal organs “fail.”

According to experts, first of all, the cardiovascular system, as well as the organs of the digestive tract, suffer from constant stress and tension.

In addition, as a result of stress, another organ may suffer, becoming a target for a stressful situation. And if previously this organ was weak and shaky, it quickly comes under attack.

Psychosomatics works according to the principle “Where it is thin, it breaks.” This means that if any organ suffers, it is the first to be hit, and the weakened organ faces danger in the form of a serious illness.

Thus, stress contributes to the appearance of somatic illness.

Reason No. 2. Prolonged experience of strong negative emotions

Negative emotions are destructive to our body.

The most destructive emotions include resentment, disappointment, envy, anxiety, and fear of something. All these emotions eat us away from the inside, gradually wearing out our body.

The principle of the effect of negative emotions on our body is the same as that of stress.

Any positive or negative emotion is not only an experience in a person’s brain, it is also a state of health and all systems of his body.

For the body, every emotion experienced is an event. When we experience something too actively, the following things happen to our body: we feel jumps in blood pressure, blood circulates more actively through the veins, the muscle tone of the body changes, breathing becomes more frequent and active.

In a word, a whole series of changes occur in the body.

However, unlike stress, not all emotions contribute to the body going into so-called emergency mode.

Each of us, even those who are far from medicine and are not doctors, knows that as a result of the fact that we experience strong emotions, blood pressure can jump up significantly.

For example, these days, it is quite common to experience negative emotions towards politicians, ruling parties, the president, and so on.

The so-called emotion of aggression-negativism has become a frequent companion of modern man. This emotion arises in relation to those who live better than us, who rule the country, etc. The development of such emotions is facilitated by daily news releases and the Internet, which provides us with news online.

It is worth noting that such a very toxic emotion is destructive for a person. But most people simply plunge into this emotion, criticizing and scolding everything around them.

A sharp jump in pressure when a person experiences it is a completely expected response of our body.

But what can happen if this very negative emotion develops into a permanent habit? It is logical that surges in blood pressure also become a constant habit and an unchanging companion of the person who succumbs to it.

All this can lead to serious illnesses awaiting him in the near future. First of all, we are talking about diseases of the cardiovascular system.

In addition, if a person is subject to some negative emotion for a long time or is not in the best emotional state for a long time, as a rule, the reason for this is an internal conflict with himself.

There are many serious studies linking certain emotions to specific diseases and illnesses.

For example, the cause of childhood neurodermatitis is the child’s excitement, his experiences, a feeling of insecurity, as well as the fear that he is not protected by loved ones.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually occurs as a result of experiencing some kind of tragedy. For example, the cause of this disease is the loss of someone close, as a result of which the disease arises.

Reason #3. Unlived emotions

As researchers in the field of psychosomatics say: “Sadness that does not result in tears makes other organs cry.”

According to experts in psychiatry and psychology, the most terrible emotion is an emotion that has not been experienced and responded to by a person.

If we experience negative emotions for a long time, it negatively affects our health. However, if you suppress them and keep everything inside, it is also very dangerous for your health.

Holding back and not experiencing negative emotions has a bad effect on your body. Remember the advice of psychologists: if negative emotions go off scale, go, for example, to the gym, so that you can definitely throw them out there.

After all, in essence, emotion is energy formed from a person’s interaction with other people and the world around us.

Energy needs to come out, manifesting itself in our behavior and actions. If we deprive her of this opportunity, she looks for other points of contact. Often this very point becomes the human body.

Experts say that unlived and suppressed emotion remains inside a person and turns into a somatic, that is, bodily disease.

A simple example, confirmed by research: when a person cannot control his aggression and anger, his risk of developing a stomach ulcer increases significantly.

It will be better if you pour out this negative emotion outward, in the form of criticism or complaint, rather than keeping it inside.

As a result, aggression turns into auto-aggression, that is, emotion eats away a person from the inside, thereby provoking a peptic ulcer.

The weaker we recognize and understand our own emotions, the higher the risk that they will transform and develop into real bodily diseases.

Each of us needs to learn to see and feel our emotions. Thanks to this ability, we will be able to express them as flexibly as possible, which, in turn, guarantees that our physical health will be stronger.

Reason No. 4. Motivation and the so-called conditional benefit

Why are you sick? Why are you sick?

Such questions sound very strange. In fact, questions of this nature occur in some cases of the disease.

Have you ever noticed that it often seems from the outside that some people simply use their own illness to solve psychological problems.

They seem to be hiding behind their illness, pretending to be sick.

Experts say there are a number of cases when the disease is beneficial to a person. Its owner simply hides behind it.

This “method” of solving any problems received its special name - going into illness.

And what’s most interesting is that, as a rule, in such cases the disease is not a deception or stimulation.

The disease in this case is not a deception or a simulation, as it seems to others. Thus, the emergence of a disease symptom actually occurs automatically at an unconscious level.

A person simply does not see the connection between a physical illness and his psychological problem.

For example, illness may benefit a schoolchild when he does not have to go to school. If he is sick, he can avoid going to his least favorite class. Another benefit is that the sick child begins to receive increased attention, he is pampered, he is bought everything he wants.

The child begins to feel loved, and it is quite logical that he begins to like it.

Therefore, sometimes children resort to illness for help. After all, in this way they try to attract attention to themselves, as well as make up for the lack of this same attention and love.

For adults, illness can become one of the ways to justify laziness, inaction and unwillingness to do something in order to change their life.

It looks something like this: What can I do? I'm sick!

The understanding that we are not able to pull ourselves together and force ourselves to do something that needs to be done becomes more difficult than the symptom of the disease itself.

Illness becomes the only way to step away a little from the everyday routine, bustle, problems, and the need to do something. Illness is like an escape from the stress that each of us faces every day.

In psychology, there have been cases where, in this way, workaholics tried to take a break from the daily stress.

Similar situations often occur in family therapy. For example, if the parents are at the stage of divorce, the child suddenly begins to get sick.

In this unconscious way, he tries to glue the parents’ relationship together, as if to rally them around his illness. And sometimes the child succeeds.

According to psychologists, if there is some conditional benefit hidden behind a certain illness, this is a completely different level of illness. Then the person, with the help of his illness, tries to resolve serious psychological problems.

It is noteworthy that such diseases cannot be cured with the help of drugs, therapy and other traditional methods that medicine and doctors will offer you at your local clinic or hospital.

Medical methods work only in cases where the problem itself is considered from a psychological point of view: for example, through awareness of the cause-and-effect relationship between this problem and the disease itself.

Very effective way will be our efforts that we are making to resolve this problem.

But experts do not advise going into illness! According to psychologists, escaping from reality and going into illness is a very unsuccessful way to deal with stress.

Psychosomatics table of diseases

The psychosomatic table describes a variety of diseases and the causes of their occurrence.

Experts are constantly arguing over the formation of a definitive list of psychosomatic diseases.

However, some of them raise no doubt that their cause lies precisely in psychological rather than physical factors.

Here is a list of these diseases:

- essential arterial hypertension;

-gastric and duodenal ulcers;

-cardiac ischemia;

-bronchial asthma;

-neurodermatitis;

-diabetes;

-rheumatoid arthritis;

-hypertension (or high blood pressure);

-gastrointestinal diseases;

- heart attack;

-sexual disorders;

-oncology and some types of tumors.

This list may vary depending on which psychosomatic specialist compiled it.

Obviously, the list of diseases is quite impressive and somewhat unexpected. Some of the diseases on this list are surprising.

For example, you must admit that few people expected to see rheumatoid arthritis on the list. But some other ailments are quite expected, since the psychological factor at their basis is pronounced.

Here are the most common diseases and their causes, according to the theory of psychosomatics:

Psychosomatic causes of insomnia

Insomnia is one of the most unpleasant disorders of our time. Insomnia is familiar to many of us.

According to statistics, every second person suffers from this disease to one degree or another. Its causes are nervous tension, anxiety, and stress.

As a rule, a person suffering from insomnia does not leave his problems at work, but brings them home with him to his family.

In addition, such a person is not able to properly distribute his time, as well as set life priorities and decide what is important to him and what should be of secondary importance.

In other words, he tries to do everything at once, tries to cover all areas of life. As a result, all this results in enormous stress, the consequence of which is insomnia.

Perhaps you should try to put aside this daily bustle, daily worries and problems that prevent you from relaxing and breathing deeply. They are the reasons for our sleepless nights.

After all, our subconscious seems to extend time so that we can solve the problems that arise during the day.

Psychosomatics of headache

Another common problem is the frequent headaches that most of us experience.

What does this mean from a psychosomatic point of view?

If you often have headaches, the reasons may be:

Low assessment of one's own personality, internal fear, dissatisfaction with oneself, self-criticism, internal reproaches and complaints to oneself.

It is likely that you feel humiliated or insulted, or perhaps in some way underestimated by others.

Perhaps you should forgive yourself for some moments, and then the headache will go away on its own.

In addition, frequent headaches bother those who have a lot of different information spinning in their head.

When a person’s thoughts “hurt”, headaches occur. You need to be able to let go of negative thoughts and the flow of information in order to also let go of the headache and feel lighter and calmer.

Low resistance to stressful situations. A person who has headaches is usually a “bundle of nerves.” He is tight and tense. The nervous system is on alert. And the first symptom of approaching diseases is headaches.

Observations also show that frequent headaches occur in highly intelligent people who do not express, but restrain their emotions. We are also talking about an excess of information here.

Loss of connection with your true self. The desire to meet the high expectations of others: family, loved ones, friends.

Trying to avoid making any serious mistakes also leads to frequent headaches.

Fear, fear of something new or unknown.

According to Dr. Sinelnikov, the cause of headaches is hypocrisy or a discrepancy between your thoughts and behavior.

For example, you smile at someone who is unpleasant to you. You flatter him by saying pleasant words, although in fact, this person causes you hostility, antipathy or rejection.

By pretending to like someone you don't love, you create an inner imbalance.

Such a discrepancy between your feelings, thoughts and actions leads to overstrain in the body, resulting in a headache.

Perhaps you should be more sincere and not try to deceive yourself. Try to communicate with those who are pleasant to you. Whenever possible, surround yourself with people you love, appreciate and respect.

Psychosomatics of migraine

Psychosomatics claims that migraine is a disease of overly self-critical people who subject themselves to strong pressure.

Many people knew that excessive criticism is not good. But experts in the field of psychosomatics unanimously claim that it can also cause migraines.

Those who are not in harmony with their inner world are susceptible to migraines. Perhaps such people set themselves impossible tasks, go towards unrealistic goals, and when they cannot achieve them, they begin to reproach and scold themselves.

The result is self-torture and a feeling of complete powerlessness. You shouldn’t chase imaginary perfection and constantly find fault with yourself.

After all, in this way, you do not correct the situation, but only aggravate the feeling of guilt that causes prolonged migraines.

Constant feelings of guilt, as well as inferiority complexes, also contribute to the development of migraines. Try to love yourself more, pamper yourself, praise yourself. And if you set some goals for yourself, then if you fail, praise yourself for trying to achieve it.

Psychosomatics of hypertension

Many people suffer from high blood pressure. Doctors identify a number of physiological factors that contribute to the development of hypertension. But how does psychosomatics interpret hypertension?

The cause of hypertension is excessive self-confidence in a person. Perhaps such a person tends to overestimate himself.

Also, the basis of this disease may be impatience or the desire to put everything on one’s shoulders. All this leads to sudden surges in pressure.

Try to relax, do everything in your power, but don’t try to jump over your head and take on the solution to all the world’s problems.

Psychosomatics of hair problems

When your hair “sicks,” it is also directly related to psychological factors.

Hair problems (early graying, hair loss, lifelessness, fragility and loss of shine) are a consequence of stress, an indicator of helplessness, anxiety and despair.

Hair, especially for women, plays a special role in self-acceptance and self-love. Hair can rightfully be considered a symbol of vital energy. They hand over a person if there are any serious failures.

Hair problems arise when a person is in constant tension, experiences anxiety and fear.

Perhaps you should try to become yourself, to believe more in yourself, in your own strengths, but also in help from above.

Psychosomatics also interprets hair diseases as a response to an overly impudent ego, excessive pride, and resentment against higher powers.

Psychosomatics of diabetes

Diabetes is one of those diseases where people get sick because of unfulfilled desires. As a rule, not getting what he wants, a person falls into depression, followed by diabetes.

People with this illness very often mentally turn to the past and miss it, certain things, people or events.

It may also be worth erasing all negative thoughts from your mind and trying not to do bad things.

Try to enjoy even the little things, greet every new day with a smile and give in less to negative thoughts. Do not pay attention to minor failures and problems that arise.

The ability to look at the world positively is the key to a happy and healthy life without diseases, health problems and depression.

Psychosomatics of arthritis

Psychosomatics says: the cause of arthritis is dislike for oneself, as well as a constant feeling of stress and depression.

Perhaps because a person judges himself too harshly and demands too much from himself, he is unable to relax. But sometimes you just need to understand that our body needs rest, and also remember what real, sincere and genuine human happiness is.

Also, those who are susceptible to arthritis are usually very good people. They never go beyond the established rules. For them there is always the word “need”. Therefore, they often go against their real desires, overstepping themselves.

Self-criticism is very developed, which is not always beneficial. Maybe you should sometimes break the rules to be happy?

-Dislocations

Frequent dislocations of limbs, from a psychomatic point of view, mean that a person allows others to control the failure. It is possible that he is being manipulated by family members, friends or colleagues.

Knee problems reveal a stubborn, proud person. It also suggests that someone is depressed and experiencing a feeling of fear.

Psychosomatics of neck pain

Neck pain also has its own interpretation from a psychosomatic point of view.

Psychologists say the neck is a bridge between the mind (head) and feelings (body). Therefore, it is logical that neck problems signal that your mind and feelings are not in harmony with each other.

On a metaphysical level, this must be interpreted as how the bridge between the spiritual and the material has been broken.

Neck problems mean that a person lacks flexibility. Perhaps he has a fear of finding out what others are saying behind his back, and instead of understanding the current situation, he simply lets it pass by, as if ignoring it.

If you have problems with your neck, just try nodding your head affirmatively and shaking it negatively. Thanks to this simple method, you will be able to understand if you have difficulty saying “Yes” or “No”.

Psychosomatics of eye problems

Psychosomatics interprets myopia as the inability to see beyond your nose. This is a complete lack of foresight, fear of the future and unwillingness to look around.

Those who suffer from farsightedness do not know how to live in the present, to enjoy today. A person with farsightedness thinks for a very long time before deciding on anything. As a rule, he carefully thinks through all the details of what he needs to do.

It is also difficult for him to see and evaluate the current situation as a whole.

Surprisingly, psychosomatics also interprets color blindness. When a person sees everything in gray colors, this means that he is not able to perceive joyful moments in life.

Glaucoma or eyesore, as a rule, occurs in someone who does not want to let go of the past and lives in the present.

Perhaps we should forgive and accept our past and realize that today is another day...

Psychosomatics of dental problems

Dental disease is associated with indecisiveness and the inability to make decisions. The causes of dental diseases can also be the following:

Fear, fear of failure, loss of self-confidence.

Instability in desires, uncertainty that you can achieve your chosen goal.

Understanding that you cannot overcome obstacles.

Also, dental disease is typical for those people for whom decisions are made by others, and they themselves are not able to analyze life situations and face the problems that have arisen.

If you have problems with your chewing teeth, this means that you are unable to accept the circumstances.

It is noteworthy that the upper lateral teeth are directly related to decision making, and the lower ones are responsible for taking responsibility for one’s decisions. There is also an opinion that problems arising on the left side indicate problems in communicating with the mother, while on the right - with the father.

In other words, serious dental problems indicate that it is time to move on to real action, learn to identify and realize your desires, and immediately begin to realize your goals. There is no need to sit still waiting for something.

Psychosomatics of problems in the oral cavity

As a rule, diseases of the oral cavity, for example, stomatitis, indicate that a person is being eaten away from the inside by severe resentment.

Perhaps you should let go of the grievances that have been tormenting you for a long time.

Biting your tongue means punishment for being too talkative and talkative; biting your cheeks means excitement, reluctance to share your secrets.

Roth is directly responsible for the acceptance of new ideas. Therefore, problems in the oral cavity indicate this.

Psychosomatics of bad breath

Based on psychosomatics, bad breath means the following:

Bad thoughts, often thoughts of taking revenge on the offender. A person’s present life is poisoned by negative thoughts about the past and hatred. Sometimes such thoughts may be unconscious.

Perhaps you should let them go and learn to live in the present.

Perhaps dirty rumors are being spread about him behind a person’s back, people around him are gossiping and gossiping about him.

Psychosomatics of lips

Lips are responsible for our sensual side of life. Depending on what internal problems are troubling a person, the following unpleasant moments may be reflected on the lips:

Cracks - a person is bursting from the inside with many conflicting feelings.

He suffers from uncertainty and from a lack of understanding of what to do, who to be with, where to go.

Lip biting - in this way, a person punishes himself for being overly sensuality and outpouring of feelings.

Herpes also reveals a person who has shown his sensuality too clearly.

Psychosomatics of excess weight

Based on psychosomatics, if a person is overweight, he should think about what is wrong with his inner world.

Extra pounds indicate that a person has serious problems inside that need to be corrected.

As a rule, the body retains extra pounds to protect itself from external factors, often negative.

A person is defenseless in front of the outside world and is not always able to confront emerging problems.