Today, doctors find in patients a large number of different diseases that occur in the human body for no particular reason. At the same time, some diseases are very insidious, since the patient did not have a single physical factor that could provoke the occurrence of a particular disease, as well as lead to its progression. For example, a person passed all the necessary tests, while everything is in order with his heredity, but the disease is still present. In this case, doctors are already beginning to think about such a phenomenon as psychosomatics. What is it, causes, symptoms, a list of diseases, as well as methods of treatment, you can find in this article. Therefore, carefully read the information provided in order to protect yourself and arm yourself.
Psychosomatic illnesses can have various causes, and for themdetection requires a special diagnostic approach. How the human psyche affects the he alth of the whole organism as a whole was studied by many scientists in ancient times. As Plato said: "In man, the soul and body are an inseparable whole." For more than two thousand years, humanity has been trying to understand more deeply how emotions affect human he alth.
Psychosomatics: what is it
Quite often you can hear people say that most of our illnesses come from nerves. Every year this phrase takes on more and more weighty meaning. However, let's see what we are talking about in this case. To do this, we will answer the question: “Psychosomatics - what is it?”
This is a special area in medicine and psychology that studies the influence of psychological factors, such as experiences, emotions and feelings, on the occurrence of various bodily physical diseases. This also includes a condition such as phantom pain. When a person does not have the prerequisites for the presence of pain, however, they still make themselves felt.
This term is of Greek origin and translates as "soul and body". It can be concluded that the psychosomatics of diseases is a science that deals with the interaction of the soul and the body, and also studies the violation of this interaction.
About psychosomatic disorders
Psychosomatic disorders are diseases or individual symptoms that develop in the body as a response to a stressful stimulus. Very often we are faced with headaches.pain, neck or back pain. The psychosomatics of such diseases may have a hidden meaning, which will not be so easy to understand. Also, the occurrence of convulsions, weakness or dizziness is not excluded. At the same time, such conditions arise without any prerequisites from the physical side, that is, a person does not have diseases that could lead to such conditions.
According to many psychologists, psychosomatic manifestations occur precisely when a person is not able to adapt to life circumstances. That is, his nervous system is not able to receive a certain stream of data.
However, in addition to individual symptoms, there is also a huge list of psychosomatic diseases, which include cardiovascular pathologies, bronchial asthma and allergies. Psychosomatics will be engaged in identifying the causes of these ailments. Such diseases will develop when psychogenic factors occur. For example, if a person has stress, any psychological trauma or conflicts. Thus, diseases are the body's response to a psychological factor.
Why stress makes us sick
Psychosomatics - what is it? This is a science that goes through new stages of development every year, because with the advent of new technologies, humanity is increasingly learning from itself what stress means. In psychology, a lot of attention is paid to such a concept as stress, and for good reason. Consider what it is.
Stress is called protectivereaction of the body that occurs as a result of the presence of a potential hazard. Under stress, the body significantly increases the production of some emergency response hormones, so all processes begin to accelerate significantly. A person's breathing and heart rate increase, as well as the work of the kidneys and the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, our body is in a protective state and thinks about what it needs to do: run away from danger or resist it. In order to provide the muscles and organs with oxygen in a stressed state, the circulatory system needs to pump more blood, so the pressure in the vessels must increase. After the effect of stress is over, the person will throw out his emotions, the work of the cardiovascular system will begin to return to normal.
However, if the discharge does not appear in a person, then the vessels will be in a state of spasm for a long time, and this can cause arterial hypertension.
Animals in the wild constantly live in a state of stress, but they do not suffer from various somatic diseases. However, this is not the case with humans. The fact is that in the modern world, people must constantly restrain their emotions, such as fear or aggression, and thus changes begin to occur in the internal organs. As a result, old diseases begin to worsen or new ones arise.
Psychosomatics of diseases depends on how resistant a person is to stress, as well as on his other personal factors.
Main causespsychosomatic illnesses
As you know, without an exact clarification of the cause of a psychosomatic illness, it is simply impossible to cure it.
One of the most important reasons why psychosomatic disorders can occur is the presence of confrontations that are in the human psyche, as well as the presence of psychological trauma, the inability to express one's own feelings and emotions with the help of words, the presence of fear to defend one's own interests, failure to recognize anger, aggression and other negative feelings.
Very often, various stressors can cause injury and pain. Psychosomatics studies the influence of stress factors that will lead to a change in the physical state of a person. This should include the experienced loss of a loved one, a catastrophe or hostilities, as well as other emotional states that can have a significant impact on the human psyche.
Psychosomatic illnesses can also arise due to internal experiences. For example, if you have depression, feelings of fear or anger, or if you feel guilty.
Psychosomatic manifestations occur under the influence of chronic emotional overstrain or stress. According to doctors, it is the residents of large cities who are most susceptible to such conditions. However, the life of every person of working age is closely intertwined with frequent clashes with stressful situations.
Tension in the work team, fear ofboss, constant quarrels in the family, unfriendly relations with neighbors and many other factors become causes of stress. Also included are traffic jams, a rush to a business interview, a constant lack of time, as well as information overload. But if a person is also tormented by insomnia, then his condition will worsen more and more. In today's world it is very difficult to live, completely protecting yourself from stress factors.
However, it should be borne in mind that there is nothing wrong with stress itself, since it is a protective reaction of the body. However, if a person experiences such a state very often, then the forces of his body will simply be depleted.
The causes of psychosomatic diseases should also include the presence of negative emotions, such as envy, fear, resentment, disappointment and others. Such emotions wear out the human body and gradually destroy it.
Psychosomatics of diseases by Louise Hay
Louise Hay is a very popular woman who has made an invaluable contribution to the treatment of psychosomatic diseases. She experienced many psychological traumas of fate, and then she was able to heal herself and help many people. Louise Hay described psychosomatics in detail in her book. In it you can find any disease and learn how to cure it with the help of special psychological practices.
Louise Hay's understanding of psychosomatics developed after many years of work in helping herself, as well as other people. But by studying the effect on the body of negativeshe took up emotions after a lot of childhood and teenage psychological traumas happened in her life.
The woman herself was diagnosed with uterine cancer, and, according to her, this is not surprising. After all, little Louise was raped at the age of five, beaten very often and severely, so this disease arose. She was able to heal herself using the techniques she had been recommending to her patients for so long.
According to her, in order to get rid of the disease, we must understand the psychological causes of its origin. Only after you destroy the psychological causes of its occurrence, you can remove the disease itself on the physical level. Louise Hay's book on the psychosomatics of diseases, Heal Yourself, tells how to help yourself by working with your feelings and difficult experiences.
Psychosomatic conditions in children
Psychosomatics also helps to understand the causes of diseases in children. In children, emotional disorders occur if the baby lives in a dysfunctional and conflict family. If in an adult such manifestations occur due to experienced stresses, then in a child, various diseases can occur due to parents. For example, if a child is still very young and is just learning to live, then he is completely dependent on his parents. The condition of the baby will depend to a very large extent on the relationship between them. If the balance is not maintained in the family, then the child will be the most important link, the purpose of which will be to restore this balance. And very often everythingreally recovers if the baby starts to get sick.
Main symptoms of childhood psychosomatic illnesses
What is it - psychosomatics? This is of interest to many psychologists. Indeed, every year an increasing number of diseases have a psychosomatic origin. Consider the signs by which you can determine the presence of such pathologies in a child:
- Physical signs. A child very often suffers from colds and infectious diseases precisely at those moments when there is chaos and chaos in the family.
- Psychological signs. For example, the parents of the child are divorced, but the father comes to the baby every evening and spends time with him. But this time, dad did not come, despite the fact that the baby was waiting for him very much. As a result, the child developed insomnia.
- Frequent occurrence of accidents. Let's consider such an example. The child's parents divorced, but dad takes the baby to school every day. But now the father stops doing this, as a result, the baby begins to fall very often and get various bruises.
Once again, it is worth repeating that parents are largely to blame for diseases in children. The psychosomatics of childhood ailments must be taken into account. However, this does not mean that it is worth keeping a complete family just for the sake of the child. If the spouses continue to live together, while not feeling comfortable, but being in constant quarrels, this will also adversely affect the he alth of the child. Therefore, in each case it is very importantweigh the pros and cons.
About the list of diseases
We have already talked about why you need to know psychosomatics. The cause of many diseases is experienced stressful conditions both in adulthood and in childhood. There is simply a huge list of ailments that arise precisely because of emotional disturbances. Such diseases affect all organs and systems. Each of these diseases carries this or that information. Consider some psychosomatic diseases, and also decipher why they occur:
- Anemia. Occurs in people who have a fear of life, and are also afraid of losing something.
- Arrhythmia. The presence of the fear of being guilty.
- Varicose veins. Usually such a disease occurs in those people who hate the situations in which they are forced to be. The condition occurs at the same time that you are very overworked in life.
- Overweight suffer people who try to protect themselves from the outside world and are in constant fear.
- Dizziness occurs in those who are afraid to look at things happening around them.
- Acne can occur if a person is dissatisfied with himself.
- The cause of psychological illness is excessive obedience to parents, boss, state and so on.
- Brain cancer can occur in people who feel unloved.
- If a person is dissatisfied with something, neck diseases can occur. Psychosomatics will help to identify the subtle causes of such diseases.
- Diabetesoccurs in those people who strive in every possible way to make their lives better. May occur to those who have not been able to fulfill their secret dreams.
- If a person is indecisive, then in this case, he may begin to develop dental diseases. Psychosomatics will help solve this problem.
The list of such diseases is simply huge. You can read more about it in books on psychosomatics. Be sure to check out books like:
- Louise Hay "Heal Yourself";
- Liz Burbo "Listen to your body";
- Antonio Meneghetti "Psychosomatics";
- Alexander Franz "Psychosomatic Medicine. Principles and Applications".
Features of treatment
In order to get rid of psychosomatic diseases, it makes no sense to use medicinal or any other conservative methods. If you do not get rid of the problem of an emotional nature, then it will be pointless to engage in physical he alth. In the treatment of psychosomatic diseases, it is very important to find an individual approach. In order to do this, it is very important to contact a highly qualified psychotherapist. However, even the patient himself, having looked inside himself and conducted self-analysis, will be able to determine for what reasons this or that disease has arisen.
If doctors found psychosomatic ailments in a child, then this suggests that all family members should undergo treatment. And in this case we are not talking about traditional therapeuticmethods. It is very important to visit a psychologist who can figure out what psychological state the parents of the child are in. In order to eliminate psychosomatics, it is very important to determine the cause of its origin, and most often it lies in the wrong environment at home. According to psychologists, even in order to cure adult patients, you need to involve his relatives and friends. For maximum results, the psychotherapist needs to work with the whole family. In order for psychological changes to occur, it is very important to change the environment. To do this, you need to somehow defuse the course of family life or even move to another place.
However, in many cases psychosomatics is hidden so deeply that it takes a lot of time and effort to reveal it. For this, it is recommended to undergo a special psychotherapeutic course. Of course, for maximum effectiveness, doctors will also prescribe special medications for you.
Who is at risk
First of all, people who hide their emotions and experiences from the outside world fall into the risk group. After all, as you know, the more negative emotions accumulate inside us, the more destructively they affect our he alth.
The tendency to develop psychosomatic disorders occurs even in childhood and adolescence, because it is then that the psyche is most unstable, since a small person simply does not know how to respond to external stimuli. In the modern world, however, there are people who can simply not get hung up on problems,therefore, they quietly live to old age without suffering from any diseases.
The risk group includes alcoholics, as well as people suffering from other types of addiction. In fact, alcoholism is also a psychosomatic problem. An alcoholic cannot get rid of his craving for alcohol until he believes that he is a person and is really capable of something. But the condition leading to alcoholism can be formed in childhood. For example, when very high standards were set in front of a child, but he simply could not meet them. In adulthood, unjustified expectations can lead to alcoholism.
Have you paid attention to the change in your he alth depending on your emotional state? So, in autumn, our emotions turn gray, and with it comes a cold.
Paid attention to the issues of psychosomatics and Liz Burbo. It emphasizes how much our emotions affect our he alth, so first of all try to monitor your condition.
How to learn to work with your emotions
Sometimes we do not know what to do with negative emotions, so we simply begin to accumulate them in our own soul. Every man and every woman should follow their inner state. Psychosomatics is a direction in psychology, studying which you can heal your soul and body. Often, a negative outlook on life through the prism of emotional states that arise from the period of early childhood leads to diseases. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to work with yourfeelings.
Psychologists recommend doing breathing exercises, meditating, doing yoga, and also conducting an internal positive monologue in order to balance your condition. If something is bothering you, relax and think about it. Praise yourself, remember how much you have already done, and you will understand that you can cope with this problem. This means that she will no longer bother you, you can save your emotional state.
It is very important to find an activity that you enjoy. For example, reading a book, going to the movies, or doing embroidery can distract you from your problems, which means you won't be in the grip of negative experiences. But do not forget that the problem still needs to be solved.
Psychosomatics is always very dangerous. Only you can help yourself. So take care of your emotional he alth right now.