The body and mind are in perfect interrelation. Emotions decisively influence our physiological processes. Proof of this are the tears we shed when we are sad, the red cheeks resulting from shame, the increased heart rate when we are afraid, etc.
What is meant by psychosomatic illness
Psychosomatic illness refers to physical symptoms directly related to psychological reasons. That is, our body suffers from the psychological influence that ends up aggravating the physical symptoms themselves. Physical symptoms escape to hide emotional distress.
Emotional processes such as depression, anxiety or stress can underlie physical symptoms, weaken the body’s defenses and make it more vulnerable. It must be taken into account that the mind-body relationship also works in the opposite and constant direction, which is why feedback on the problem occurs.
Examples of psychosomatic disorders
These are some of the most common psychosomatic diseases.
- Fibromyalgia: Sometimes it occurs after an emotional or physical trauma and is accompanied by symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Likewise, it often causes feelings of guilt and low self-esteem in the person who suffers from it.
- irritable bowel: It frequently appears associated with anxiety and stress, being triggering factors of this chronic disorder.
- Dizziness: the very fear of losing control of our life and emotional balance can cause certain dizziness.
- Headaches: Frequent headaches caused by tension. Due to anxiety, the pericranial and cervical muscles can contract, causing chronic pain.
- : related to difficulty relaxing.
- Dermatological disorders: stress directly influences conditions such as psoriasis, seborritis dermatitiseica, eczema and others, which have a strong psychological component.
What is the somatization process?
Somatization is called expression of emotional problems through physical symptoms. The pain and anguish caused by emotional trauma can cause obvious physical problems such as paralysis, blindness, hoarseness… However, this process can cause somewhat less striking symptoms, such as headache, nausea, back pain, palpitations, etc
As we have seen, emotional problems such as stress or anxiety cause bodily reactions that can range from increased cortisol levels to bloating. If the person suffers from them for a long time and cannot manage them well, somatization will become a psychosomatic disease that can affect different systems of our body (respiratory, nervous, digestive, muscular…).
Who are the people most likely to suffer from a psychosomatic disorder?
As can be deduced from the previous paragraphs, people who have emotional problems are more vulnerable. For example, those who suffer from:
- Anxiety
- Traumas
- Guilty feeling
- Negative emotions
- emotional repression
- Conflicts to resolve
- Hypochondria
Treatment
To treat this type of disorder, it is necessary to discover what the cause is to reprogram our attitude and handle these situations without somatization occurring.
There are some techniques that can help control psychosomatic disorders and that we usually use in consultation:
- Relaxation
- Training in social skills, assertiveness and problem solving
- Systematic desensitization techniques
- Cardiac coherence techniques
- Cognitive restructuring procedures
.