It is believed that the causes of psychosomatic diseases are associated not only with the physical condition, but also with the psychological. The American psychotherapist F. Alexander first noticed this fact and expressed his observation back in 1950 of the last century. Decades passed, his idea received a scientific justification. Today, it can be confidently stated that psychosomatic states at the physical level manifest themselves as serious illnesses.
How do psychosomatic disorders manifest themselves?
Depending on the accentuation of the character, the degree of vulnerability and sensitivity of a person, disorders can manifest themselves to a greater or lesser extent. There is no proven relationship between stress and serious illness. Although some oncologists argue that the cause of the spread of metastases and the growth of neoplasms may just be chronicstress. Modern medicine recognizes that in most cases the causes of psychosomatic diseases are mixed: it is the influence of stress, and suitable heredity, and an unhe althy lifestyle.
Most often, the symptoms of this kind of diseases are associated with the presence of pain and tachycardia, lack of air. At first glance, it may seem that a person has a pre-infarction condition or an asthma attack. In fact, this is a typical psychosomatic state: a person suffocates, the heart rate quickens. This is about states. There is also such a thing as psychosomatic he alth and illness.
It is officially proven that the following diseases in at least half of the cases develop as a result of chronic stress, grief experienced (this can be violence, death of a loved one, divorce):
- essential hypertension;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- deafness and blindness of a psychogenic nature;
- neurodermatitis;
- alcoholism;
- ulcerative colitis;
- asthma.
The exact relationship and degree of influence of experienced stresses on the appearance of malignant or benign neoplasms has not been established. It is possible that the consequences of mental experiences are much more detrimental to physical he alth than conventional medicine has proven to date.
First signs and symptoms of problems
The first sign to watch out for is psychosomatic pain. Most often, after examination withmodern equipment fails to recognize their cause, while because of them the patient's condition inexorably worsens.
Pain in a psychosomatic state is most often deployed:
- in the heart;
- under the shoulder blade;
- in the chest area;
- in the muscles of the limbs;
- in the lumbar spine;
- migraine (headache) with or without aura.
Often, patients also complain of the following conditions (at the same time, standard diagnostic methods using ultrasound, MRI, palpation do not report the presence of any serious pathologies):
- palpitations, shortness of breath;
- heaviness in the back, stabbing pains in the lower back that get worse after excitement or sleepless nights;
- heaviness in the limbs, numbness of all fingers or one or two;
- hot flashes, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating in one part of the body - often armpits, feet or palms);
- nausea after eating even a light meal;
- suffocation, shortness of breath - symptoms in a psychosomatic state often resemble asthma;
- stool disorders - diarrhea can start suddenly before an important event, even if the person ate right the day before;
- asthenia and weakness are common conditions for psycho-emotional problems of any etiology;
- increased fatigue, while falling asleep is difficult - insomnia often becomes a source of a real problem;
- dizziness after waking up, when trying to perform one or another physical action (turning the head, tilting the body, etc.);
- numbness of hands, feet, fingers often haunts the patient in the morning and before going to bed - for this reason, sleep problems often appear (a person is afraid to fall asleep, he worries about his he alth and possible death).
Psychological portrait of a person with psychosomatic disorders
Obviously, if the stress could "escape" out into the physical world, then it was very strong. The effect of stress on a strong personality is easily predictable: a person will simply "shake himself off" and go on with his life, not remembering what happened. it is very important that such an attitude to the problem be sincere. if a person only "pretends" that he let go of the problem, but in fact it gnaws at him - this is very bad. This is a direct path to the development of psychosomatic disorders. Only if a person truly, sincerely got rid of the traumatic factor, then we can talk about the presence of a strong and he althy psyche. For such people, the chance of suffering from psychosomatic conditions is close to zero.
You can make a psychological portrait of a person prone to the development of physical ailments due to stress and problems experienced:
- Hypochondria is the main character trait, even if the person himself tries to disguise it from himself. He is constantly fascinated by reading literature or articles about he alth, illness, and tries to relate the information received to his own feelings and symptoms (which are almost always far-fetched and untrue).
- Man,who tends to blame others for his troubles, most often experiences stress more painfully than those people who try to find and correct their own mistakes.
- Vulnerability is most often inherent in such people since childhood. Resentment against school teachers, classmates, parents, they retain until old age. They remember every unpleasant word addressed to them for years. After such children become adults, vulnerability and painful resentment do not go anywhere, it’s just that a person begins to be ashamed of these “vices” of his and now takes offense not out loud, but only to himself, sometimes developing many hours of dialogue with a fictitious image of the offender.
- Psychiatrists often note some schizoidness in people prone to psychosomatic states. This isolation, unwillingness to maintain any social ties with people. Schizoids from the outside can give the impression of closed introverted people, although in fact they are more often not schizoids in the medical sense of the word. It's just that, as a result of previously received grievances, they closed themselves in their shell and do not make contact with the people around them.
Causes and factors that influence the appearance of the disorder
Symptoms of psychosomatic disorders never appear just like that. In most cases, these are the consequences of the following experiences:
- death of a loved one, possibly a friend, relative, spouse;
- problematic, conflicting relationship with an important person (spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend,own child, colleague or boss - in a hierarchical system of relationships with others, any figure can have super-importance);
- divorce or parting with a loved one;
- diseases of close relatives;
- the fact of violence, both sexual and psychological, fights with bodily injuries, forced to endure the physical manifestation of aggression - all this once does not go away just like that for the human psyche;
- leaving your old job and looking for a new one;
- for a child, the transition to a new school or even a kindergarten is a serious psycho-emotional trauma that often causes ailments.
How to understand that the cause of the disease lies precisely at the level of the subconscious and the psyche?
The above is a list of the most common symptoms and signs of a psychosomatic disorder. At first it's just pain of an obscure nature. Over time, it becomes so pronounced that it begins to significantly complicate the life of the patient. He begins to visit doctors, orders consultations from major luminaries. But the idea of contacting a specialist in psychosomatic medicine does not yet occur to him. As a result, numerous examinations do not reveal any diagnosis: formally, the person is he althy. At most, he can be diagnosed with some vague diagnosis - for example, "vegetovascular dystonia".
This condition does not pose a threat to he alth. But to the owner, it causes a lot of unpleasant moments and significantly complicates the existence. Decreased performance, vitality. The psychosomatic state affects the child the hardest: if adults are used to somehow coping with apathy and other "charms" of such conditions, then children are not yet prepared for such he alth problems. Parents should take the child to a psychotherapist and inquire about the features of psychosomatic medicine if the child has become vulnerable, withdrawn, complains of spontaneous pains and other ailments that are listed above.
If, after the examinations, a clear diagnosis has not been made, it is likely that the cause of he alth problems is the person's psychosomatic state. In order to verify the accuracy of your suspicions, you need to contact a psychotherapist.
How to deal with stress so that it does not lead to the development of a psychosomatic state
The easiest way to avoid psychosomatic he alth problems in the future is to deal with stress as quickly as possible from the moment it occurs. Psychotherapists recognize that this is the only possible way to get out of a psychosomatic state and even simply prevent it from appearing.
- If possible, openly discuss the conflict with the person who causes rejection. If stress is provoked by a conflict with a spouse or loved one, then this is not a reason to restrain yourself. We need to find out the relationship and close the gest alt as soon as possible.
- If a person is inherently vulnerable, closed, some kind of schizoid or dependent type of behavior - you should work on your owncharacter. If the features do not smooth out and life does not become easier, you should sign up for a consultation with a psychotherapist.
- If parents have noticed alarming symptoms of stress and victim behavior in their child, then you should make an appointment with a good child psychotherapist. For starters, you can even just see a psychologist. Alas, there are few good specialists in this category and it is easy to cause even more harm to the fragile psyche of children.
- The normal psychosomatic state of a person is peace and the absence of overt or hidden experiences. The more a person is victimized, vulnerable, prone to addictions (addictions), the more chances he has after some time to become the owner of a somatic disease, the fault of which is the inability to cope with chronic stress.
Psychosomatic diseases in children and adolescents
Psychosomatic therapy in children and adolescents is complicated by the fact that they are rather reluctant to let an adult into their inner world. The therapist can find out for a long time what exactly, what traumatic factor caused the development of a physical disease. In some cases, this factor may be:
- parents' divorce;
- illness or death of a loved one;
- bad relationships at school with friends or teachers;
- unhappy love;
- failure in school;
- transfer from former place of study.
In order to successfully get rid of stress and prevent the development of psychosomaticdiseases in a child or adolescent, it is not enough to understand the cause of his neurosis. It is also necessary to ensure a sufficient level of the child's trust in his person. Otherwise, he simply refuses to discuss anything with the therapist. Sometimes it may take several months of therapy just to establish contact between the child and the therapist. Alas, consultations of a good specialist are expensive - not every family is able to pay for such a long-term therapy. Therefore, it is very important that parents establish a connection and spiritual contact with their own child. This will help solve a lot of problems and avoid "teenage rebellion" in the future.
Which therapy is effective in case of psychosomatic diseases?
What areas of psychotherapy will come to the rescue if there are problems with a psychosomatic state?
- Behavioral therapy is based on the theory that learned behavior in response to past experiences can be forgotten or reformulated without focusing on the interpretation of unusual behavior. Helps develop the right response to stress. People with obsessive and compulsive disorders, fears, phobias and addictions can benefit from this type of therapy. The emphasis is on the client achieving goals and changing their behavioral responses to problems such as stress or anxiety.
- In the context of short-term therapy, a variety of psychotherapy techniques are used. It differs from other therapeutic approachesthat focuses on a specific problem and involves the direct intervention of a therapist working with a client in an accelerated mode. Emphasis is placed on accurate observation, the client's nature is used, and the temporary inclusion of faith in the unbelievable is encouraged to allow consideration of new perspectives and different points of view.
- Gest alt therapy will help you reconsider your attitude to past stresses and conflicts. after a person has deeply and sincerely worked through the situations that caused the psychosomatic state, there is a possibility of a significant relief of the state. It can take a long time to find a really good, conscientious therapist.
Physical education in the struggle for psycho-emotional relaxation
In addition to psychotherapy, there is another completely free and very effective method to get rid of accumulated stress. This is physical education. At first glance, it may seem that playing sports will not affect the degree of psychological stress.
In fact, after half an hour of intense physical activity, a lot of hormones are released that help a person cope with stress. Endorphins and serotonin will help to survive a stressful situation, even if it seems hopeless to the patient himself. In order to feel a relatively noticeable release of endorphins, you should maintain a heart rate of about 100-120 beats per minute for at least half an hour, optimally - 50 minutes.
Ifthe patient is in a state close to depressive, and cannot force himself to go in for sports for any length of time, then only psychotherapy or conversations with a psychologist remain from the means of influence. If depression is indeed diagnosed, all that remains is the use of special prescription drugs - antidepressants and antipsychotics. Against the background of such therapy, the patient's condition will even out, after which we can already talk about sports.
Doctors' advice: how not to start your psychological state and not let it develop into a disease
In order for the pains of a psychosomatic nature not to let you know about yourself, you should take care of your psychological state of he alth. To do this, it is enough to follow simple advice from psychologists:
- If there is a conflict or misunderstanding (it doesn't matter with whom - boss, colleague, spouse, child, relative), you should definitely talk about the problem out loud. The longer and the further into the depths of his soul a person stuffs his resentment, the more he alth problems it will backfire in the future. A simple rule of psychotherapy: if you want to solve a problem, talk about it out loud.
- If there is an opportunity to regularly take a break from work, you should take this opportunity. According to psychologists, about forty percent of psychosomatic disorders are associated with professional burnout and overwork. The modern rhythm of life forces people to earn money without giving a damn about their own he alth and psychological comfort. so carelessthe body and psyche do not forgive attitudes towards themselves.
- If the relationship with your spouse has ceased to bring satisfaction and serve as a source of neurosis, then it is better to interrupt them and live separately for a while. The longer a person rapes himself, pretending that everything is fine in the family, the more likely that symptoms of a psychosomatic disorder will begin to appear over time. This rule can be attributed to all relationships: whether it is communication with friends, relatives, etc. If it has reached a dead end, then you should interrupt it without regret.
