Psychosomatic illnesses present symptoms of a physical nature, the origin of which is at least in part linked to the mental state. They therefore appear as the bodily expression of psychological tensions. As Freud said “the psychic then makes a leap into the organic”.

Physical pain for psychological causes

Pains, paralysis, cramps, spasms, convulsive seizures…, psychosomatic illnesses are materialized by physical symptoms which affect an organ and whose causes are essentially emotional. These psychological causes can be brutal (death, divorce, separation, accident, job loss, etc.), cause our natural defenses to fall suddenly and cause illness. But not only.

“The fall in natural defenses that can cause ailment is not just the result of trauma,” says Maria Hejnar. It can occur in people with a persistently high level of anxiety, or with depressive states, or living in situations of moral distress, stress and tension for a prolonged period. When these conditions last a long time, the exhausted psychic apparatus can cease to be able to maintain the balance and decompensate in a psychic mode or in a somatic mode ”.

A disease that affects women more than men

It is estimated that 38% of women and 26% of men are affected by a disease of this type at some point in their life. “Men come to consult less and have more difficulty accepting psychic causality than women. In addition, they have more recourse to psychotropic products (alcohol, cannabis) to manage emotions, whether they are linked to internal tensions (such as internal conflicts) than to external ones (linked to stress) ”.

Generally, gastrointestinal disorders (such as stomach ulcers) are the most common psychosomatic illnesses.

Skin diseases if they are not linked to a disease or a virus, would also have a psychological origin. Psoriasis, warts, herpes, rosacea, sores, mouth ulcers appear in cases of anxiety and emotionality.

“Anxiety is at the root of these symptoms. It is defined as a feeling of lacking internal security. The subject who has not acquired the feeling of internal security worries about everything ”.

In babies

These affections also concern children: the infant, unable to speak of his discomfort, will express his distress in another way with eczema, insomnia, asthma “The expression of emotions is a key concept in the avoidance of many psychosomatic conditions. Indeed, it is often the repressed emotions (sadness, anger) which come to be expressed by “direct” discharges in the body causing physical symptoms ”.

A bad psychological state can also lead to tonsillitis, bronchitis or nasopharyngitis… repeatedly “because the exhaustion of our mental resources causes fatigue and weakens the immune system. Infectious diseases are all the more serious for the individual as his immune system is weakened. Stress, psychic overload, lack of sleep, fatigue weaken the immune system and make us more vulnerable to infections. Autoimmune diseases are another example of ailments whose development is linked to psychological factors. The pre-existence of unfavorable psychological conditions (bereavement, trauma, etc.) has been observed, but the relationships between these factors are still little known ”.

High blood pressure and migraines are also among the symptoms of these diseases.

Different symptoms from person to person

The symptoms of psychosomatic illnesses are very different in different people (individual variations). “Some symptoms can coexist in the same person. In particular, with regard to adrenaline, its action stimulates the central nervous system and can therefore influence several organic functions including those of the intestine for example and this in different ways (for example causing contractions).

The whole psyche – soma is complex. The same goes for the notion of neurosis. So much so that we sometimes speak of organ neurosis, both in the heart and in the digestive system… ”.

Psychosomatic illnesses are more strongly influenced by psychological factors and situations of moral distress.

In question :

• Stress and chronic anxiety,
• Psychic conflicts, often unconscious (fear, anger, unexpressed anger, repressions, etc.),
• Painful events (divorce, bereavement, alcoholism, sexual abuse, ill-treatment),
• More minor events (worries of daily life, annoyances), but the cumulative effect of which can cause psychosomatic disorders.

“To this are grafted psychological profiles that can accelerate somatization processes, such as: a predisposition to overwork, refusal to ask for help, an aggressive temperament, personality profiles characterized by hyper-reactivity to stress. However, we now know that stress modifies the nervous, immune and hormonal balance of the organism, which can cause or promote numerous pathologies ”.

“Before making the diagnosis of a psychosomatic illness, it is necessary to exclude the existence of an organic disorder requiring medical treatment”.

A complete physical examination and additional examinations (biology, radiology, specialist advice) are necessary to ensure this.

Beyond symptomatic treatment, psychotherapies are indicated. “Coherence therapy which allows constructs, that is, emotional truths embedded in the mind (often during childhood and adolescence) to be updated, is a new fashion, but there is a broad spectrum of psychotherapies that may be beneficial in treating psychosomatic conditions.

Psychodynamic psychotherapies (psychoanalytically inspired) are very effective in treating root causes.

“Cognitive-behavioral techniques (which is the bet of coherence therapy) and in particular relaxation or meditation make it possible to better manage emotions in order to avoid emotional overflow in the somatic”.

It is up to the psychotherapist to choose the approach adapted to each patient who suffers according to his particular psychic functioning.