Is Psychosomatics A Fashionable Diagnosis? - Blogs, Quality Of Life

The influence of the state of mind on human health is a truth proven by medical practice. According to the WHO, from 38 to 42% of all visits to doctors for bodily ailments are related to diseases associated with the psycho-emotional sphere. It is important not to miss the moment when stress can lead to long-term illness.

WE ARE OFTEN HEARING ABOUT "PSYCHOSOMATICS" OR THE CONNECTION OF THE PSYCHE AND THE BODY

This term is well known, but often its practical interpretation looks vague and contradictory. There are very different ideas about psychosomatics both among the patients who suffer from it and among the specialists who save them.

SOUL + BODY =?

Let's try to figure out what "psychosomatics" is. This word is derived from the Greek psyche - soul and soma - body and means primarily the bodily manifestation of emotions and their effect on health. Today, there are three approaches to psychosomatics.

• 1. Medical approach. The importance of psychosomatic disorders "in the old fashioned way" is underestimated, moreover, they are mixed with completely different psychological problems. As a result, to patients suffering from neurotic or personality disorders, doctors sometimes say: "You have psychosomatics," meaning by these words that they do not find anything serious.
• 2. The psychological approach is the exact opposite of the medical one. Its supporters significantly overestimate the role of psychosomatics, and the psychological "diagnosis": "You have obvious psychosomatics!" - sounds almost at every step. It is important to remember that a psychologist should not substitute for a doctor, interfere with clinical diagnoses and prescriptions. And the psychosomatic patient, according to the principle of "dual guidance", needs two assistants at the same time: a psychologist and a doctor, acting in concert.
• 3. The healing approach of traditional spiritual and health-improving practices, such as yoga, qigong and others, declares that all ailments are associated with a violation of the flow of "energy" in the body (which means the bodily manifestation of emotions). Compulsory bodily, energetic and meditative exercises are prescribed as a “medicine” (which, however, is of undoubted benefit).

Emotions Rule Ball

Truth, as usual, lies at the intersection of different points of view. Today we are getting closer to recognizing the correctness of the wise philosopher Novalis that any disease can be called partly mental. Any - but partly! Of course, the state of mind of a person affects the course of almost any disease, but the weight of this contribution is markedly different.

The most "psychosomatic" diseases, in the origin of which negative emotions play the role of a trigger, are hypertension, bronchial asthma, diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis. In general, at least 2/3 (and according to some estimates - more than 80%) of bodily ailments bear a clear imprint of psychosomatics. Practice confirms that in each case of the disease there is an individual combination of two causes - organic and psychosomatic. Even in cases where the cause of the disease, it would seem, is entirely and completely organic, psychosomatic factors are still present, since they affect the course of the disease. The main psychological "culprit" of malaise is negative experiences. They begin to have a direct damaging effect on the body due to the discrepancy between the very nature of emotions and the modern way of life.

Psychosomatic factors contribute to the course of almost any illness, but the weight of this contribution varies from case to case

IS IT TIME TO BEAT THE ALARM?

The question arises: when can one reasonably suspect the psychosomatic nature of the disease? It's time to take care of your state of mind if:

• 1. The attending physician is sure that "this is psychosomatics", and, moreover, the personal psychologist agrees with him.
• 2. The indices of all the tests carried out are normal, but, despite this, the symptoms of the disease continue to disturb.
• 3. Treatment for a long time, alas, does not bring the expected results, but repeated examinations conducted by different specialists do not reveal another diagnosis that would replace the initial one.
• 4. Behind an illness, as behind a "stone wall", a person begins to hide from life's difficulties.
• 5. There is an undeniable connection between the disease and the stress suffered.
• 6. There is a short-term increase in the symptoms of the disease when a person is in a certain environment or near specific people.

The time interval between stress and the "onset" of the disease can be quite long, up to several months. But when the disease begins to manifest itself, every mention of a stressful situation, memory of it, encounter with its consequences will lead to a deterioration in well-being, quite noticeable and, moreover, containing typical bodily manifestations of already known symptoms.

In all these cases, it is worth thinking about the fact that the basis of the disease is psychosomatic, created by the body itself as a “payback” for negative emotions. And in order to deal with it, you need to change your emotional life.