The most popular problem of our time is the appearance of pain of a different nature in a person. This problem is especially acute in general somatic medicine and psychiatry. To summarize what has been said, the whole human life is aimed at avoiding discomfort in every possible way: both physical and mental, both strong and weak. At the moment when the patient suddenly has pain, he perceives it differently within the range of trouble. Some feel mild discomfort, while others feel acute and unbearable torment. One of the types of pain can be called psychogenic pain.
Features of malaise
In fact, pain always plays a signal role in the human body. He talks about the presence of problems in the functioning of organs or systems, about injury or disease. In a word, it points to the source of the ailment. Pain syndrome is one of the symptoms of the disease and exists in order to indicate it in a short period of time. So a person will be able to start surgical treatment of the pathology, preventing the deterioration of the condition.
The intensity and nature of the resulting pain, as a rule, correlates with the existing malaise in the body: the stronger the pathology, the more intense the discomfort. After the elimination of the disease, the source of malaise is quickly eliminated and ceases to disturb the patient. But it should be remembered that in some cases, the pain syndrome may still not correspond to the nature of the damage, or the discomfort may not go away even after the body is fully restored.
If the discomfort does not go away for 3-6 months, then the doctor considers the patient has a chronic pain syndrome. In this case, the pain has an organic basis.
Physicians classify the following types of pain: neuropathic, nociceptive and psychogenic. The latter form occurs only in the event of the appearance in a person's life of traumatic situations or psychological conflicts.
What diseases is typical for?
According to V. Levy, this type of malaise most often occurs in people who are prone to auto-aggressive behavior and suicide. Such a condition is observed, as a rule, under such conditions:
- neurosis;
- stress;
- schizophrenia;
- hysterical disorder;
- panic disorder;
- PTSD;
- neurasthenia;
- hypochondria;
Kardialgia is another disease that is characterized by this type of pain.
The main characteristics of psychalgia include:
- pain syndrome has no exact location;
- discomfort extends to back, heart, stomach and head;
- vague pain that does not have a specific character;
- discomfort persists even after medication;
- along with pain, the patient often feels spiritual emptiness and indifference.
Different from simple pain
The main distinguishing feature is that a person creates psychogenic pain for himself and can get rid of it himself.
For example, if he worked all day under stressful conditions, then by the end he may experience severe pain in the joints and muscles. Occasional headaches may occur.
Such a process is considered quite natural, since all reactions in the body come from the brain, and the mental state is often disturbed due to other problems.
Varieties of ailments
Psychogenic pain syndrome is divided into the following varieties:
- Pain that appears as a result of the negative impact of a number of emotional factors that traumatize the psyche of events. The occurrence of such unpleasant sensations can be explained by excessive muscle tension.
- Pain syndrome that appears at the time of delirium or hallucination. The patient gets rid of discomfort immediately after getting rid of the disease that led to him.
- Pain due to prolonged depression appears as a result of a decrease in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. As a result of this process, the pain threshold of sensitivity is significantly reduced.and the patient develops subthreshold pains in which he feels overwhelmed.
Psychogenic pain syndrome cannot be characterized by the presence of a somatic basis that could provoke it. The patient most often determines the area of spread of discomfort, damage, in which diseases (even if they were present) could not provoke pain of such intensity.
Sometimes, damage to the somatosensory system is actually detected through research in the clinic, but they cannot explain the severity and intensity of the pain defect. The main role in this case is played not by the pathological process and not by trauma, but by emotional and traumatic factors of the human psyche.
Detailed description of each process
The biological basis of psychogenic spasms is the nociceptive system: persistent pain occurs after activation of nocireceptors, usually due to muscle tension.
The process can also activate the human sympathetic nervous system, resulting in retrograde excitation of nociceptive system receptors and sensitization. One example of such a process would be the appearance of areas of increased sensitivity to pain stimulation (for example, in the presence of fibromyalgia and headache).
When treating psychogenic itching, it is most important to determine the cause of the pain syndrome. Only after identifying this factor can a full recovery be ensured with the help of medicaland psychological help. Also, when carrying out diagnostic measures, it is important to consult a doctor who will help determine the presence of a connection between pain and mental disorder (schizophrenia and depression).
Main causes of condition
The main causes of psychogenic pain include:
- Permanent complaints from a person about his poor emotional state. For example, "heart breaks" or "head in a vise".
- Feeling insufficient attention from other people - relatives, friends. This condition is typical for people who like to get sick, because it is at this time that others take care of them and show the maximum level of attention.
- The desire to constantly keep everything under control. The more we go into consciousness, the more we see chronic shortcomings inside ourselves, thereby suppressing our mood and worsening our morale. It is this factor that leads to the occurrence of pain of a psychogenic nature.
- When a person is regularly stressed at work, in the family, and also if he is in tension most of the day.
Main types of ailments
Pain syndrome of a psychogenic nature is divided into types that differ from each other in certain characteristics:
- Head psychalgia. Growing aching pain can be attributed to the symptom of psychalgia in neuroses. It occurs in a person against the background of psychological stress, nervous experiences and various fears. Most often suffer from itadults whose psyche is unstable and easily amenable to any outside influence. Pain of this nature can last for days, weeks, and sometimes even months. A prolonged depressive state may form.
- Dorsalgia. A condition arising from mental disorders. Psychogenic back pain can be quickly and easily treated.
- Abdominal syndrome. Nervous abdominal pain is associated with the digestive system. In this case, the patient complains of discomfort in the intestines or stomach. Most often, malaise is manifested due to stress, lack of attention from others, increased concentration on minor problems, one's failures and other difficulties that a person with a stable psyche and a sober outlook on life does not pay much attention to.
- Kardialgia. This is a sharp pain in the region of the heart. The condition is characterized by periodic discomfort, which cannot be eliminated even with the help of medicines. Discomfort occurs due to a psychogenic disorder and is diagnosed in patients who are constantly working and under stress.
Symptoms of disease
Symptoms of malaise can be different and vary greatly in their severity. Most often, this includes weakness, fatigue, aching or stabbing syndromes that spread around the head, arms, legs, back and heart. Some patients experience absent-mindedness, memory loss (minor events), complete or partial lack of appetite, sleep problems.
Possible Complications
Many people know the saying that says that all diseases come from the head. Therefore, the danger of a psychogenic pain syndrome should not be underestimated. These include depression on a permanent basis, severe stress, memory difficulties and problems with the functioning of the whole organism.
Diagnostic measures
Determining whether a person has pain in a certain part of the body due to a serious problem or due to simple overwork and exposure to stressful situations is quite difficult. If any symptoms occur, it is first important to determine where the problem comes from, exclude the risk of disease of a certain system of the body, and only then begin treatment of organs and the psyche.
Who might experience this?
Treatment of psychogenic pain should be a complete rest of the body. If a person is in constant stress and tension, then in order to get rid of unpleasant symptoms, he needs to be given rest and time to recover. Otherwise, the patient may develop serious disorders and really dangerous diseases.
At risk are people who think a lot about their work, are constantly loaded, take all the responsibility of other people on themselves, want to control every detail.
It is important to remember that psychogenic pain is not as safe as it might seem. Constant nervousness as a result can lead to diseases of the heart, digestive system, back and head. It is worth spending more time on activities thatbring real pleasure and do not make you worry too much.
Methods for treating malaise
Treatment measures aimed at eliminating psychogenic pain are most often based on the use of mild sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs, sedative herbal tinctures, and sometimes (with a serious form of mental conflict) even tranquilizers and antidepressants.
Often, various methods of psychotherapy are used to eliminate pain, which most often do not give the desired result with a single use. In the treatment of psychogenic pain, the following therapeutic techniques are known:
- cognitive behavioral;
- body-oriented;
- psychoanalysis.
When using a cognitive-behavioral approach, the main goal is to establish a general psychological picture of the appearance of pain. The second step will be to perform special exercises aimed at relieving discomfort and discomfort.
At the same time, patients are given special psychological techniques that effectively deal with stress and help get rid of tension. For people who are in constant anxiety and acutely perceive any events in life, the doctor develops a specialized program to combat fear.
Bodily-oriented psychotherapy is aimed at identifying the problem of psychalgia and creating a special protective block in the form of clamped muscles of the arms, legs, stooped shoulders and more. According to experts, activelyusing this technique, to correct psychogenic pain, you just need to get rid of muscle clamps through specialized breathing and physical exercises.
Psychoanalysis is the analysis of psychogenic syndrome as a reaction to the impact of serious traumatic factors. A patient who is regularly in conflict situations and quarrels with people forces them to an unconscious level, not solving the problem situation, but putting it on the back burner.
But it is important to remember that if you try to forget about the offense for a while, then after some time it will definitely make itself felt and can even develop into such conditions as psychogenic pain in the neck, long depression, nervous breakdown and others psychological problems. The psychoanalytic method of treatment helps to determine the root cause of the ailment, and also allows patients to quickly get rid of the pressing problem, without bringing the situation to a state where there is a risk of a serious illness.
List of psychotherapists in St. Petersburg
If you have persistent pain, it is recommended to contact the following specialists from St. Petersburg:
- Bragar Maria Alexandrovna. Work experience 15 years. The cost of admission is 3,000 rubles.
- Verzhenskaya Yanina Yurievna. Work experience 28 years. The cost of admission is 3,000 rubles.
- Chuban Olga Ivanovna. Work experience 9 years. The price for a consultation is 3,200 rubles.
Don't be afraid to speak up and start treatment. Psychotherapists of St. Petersburg will help you quickly findthe cause of the pain and select a comfortable therapy for the patient.
