Psychosomatics: when illness becomes our salvation

Imagine a situation: a person has been worried about a disease for a long time. Doctors make a helpless gesture, medicines do not help either. Why is this happening? Because his illness is caused not by physiological, but by psychological reasons, that is, it has a psychosomatic basis. In this case, the help of a qualified specialist is needed: not a general practitioner, but a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Psychosomatics, where are you from?

We cannot choose dreams, emotions and experiences, like movies on paid subscription services. Our unconscious breaks through them — the hidden and most intimate part of our psyche. Even Freud, who studied this phenomenon, noted that the psyche is like an iceberg: there is a “surface” conscious part, and in the same way there is an “underwater”, unconscious part. It is she who determines the scenarios of events in our lives, one of which is illness.

While emotions are tearing us apart from the inside, psychosomatics works as a protective function of the body, protecting us from psychosis. If we remove traumatic emotions from the unconscious, give them names and definitions, then they will no longer pose a danger — now they can be changed. However, finding these deep wounds is not easy.

What traumas are contained in the unconscious?

• Severe and wounding traumas from our personal history;
• Scenarios and dependencies received from parents;
• Scenarios and traumas of the family: each of us has a family memory and obeys the family laws.

Who is prone to psychosomatic illness?

Most often, psychosomatic illnesses occur in those who do not know how to experience emotions, express them correctly and share them with others — in childhood, the feelings of such people could be banned for the convenience of parents. As a result, they have broken contact with their body, so it is able to signal problems only through diseases.

What to do?

Most of all, a person suffering from psoriasis, asthma, or any other disease wants to get rid of the symptoms. Such an approach is doomed to failure, since disease is often part of our behavior. First of all, you need to find its causes.

The psychologist here works like a meticulous detective who recreates the history of the disease:

• Finds out when and under what circumstances the first episode of the disease occurred and what emotions accompanied it;
• Finds out what childhood traumas these feelings resonate with: when they first arose, with what people and situations they were associated;
• Checks if the roots of the disease are growing from generic scenarios. To do this, it is necessary to collect a family history — sometimes a symptom becomes a link between us and the tragic experience of our ancestors. For example, there is the concept of “psychological infertility”. If the grandmother died in childbirth, then the granddaughter may unconsciously be afraid of pregnancy.

Since we consider illness as part of behavior, we mean that any psychosomatic symptom is always accompanied by a «secondary benefit» syndrome, which also reinforces it. Seasonal allergies can occur in a son-in-law who does not want to plow his mother-in-law on «six acres.» Colds often cover children who are afraid of control. Cystitis often occurs as a defense against unwanted sex.

What diseases are considered psychosomatic?

The founder of psychosomatic medicine, Franz Alexander, identified seven main psychosomatoses:

1. Ulcerative colitis
2. neurodermatitis and psoriasis
3. Bronchial asthma
4. Arthritis
5. Gipotireoz
6. Hypertension
7. Ulcer of the stomach and duodenum

Now migraines, panic attacks and chronic fatigue syndrome have been added to them, as well as some types of allergies that psychosomatic specialists consider as a «phobia» of the immune system.

Psychosomatics and stress: is there a connection?

Very often, the first episode of the disease occurs against the background of stress. It has three stages: anxiety, resistance and exhaustion. If we are on the last of them, then the trigger of a psychosomatic illness is launched, which in a normal state might not have manifested itself.

How to relieve stress?

Sit comfortably and relax. Start breathing with your belly and make sure that your chest does not rise much. Then begin to slow down your breathing, inhaling and exhaling for a count — for example, inhale for one-two, exhale for one-two-three.

Gradually, over a few minutes, bring the exhalation count to five or six — but do not lengthen the inhalation. Listen carefully to yourself, feel how your breathing becomes freer. Do this exercise for 10-20 minutes in the morning and evening.

Treatment of psychosomatic diseases: what not to believe?

Of course, choosing the right psychologist is not easy. To do this, you first need to study information about his practical experience, education and qualifications. You should be wary if the specialist focuses on getting rid of the symptoms and does not try to find out the causes of the disease. In this case, you may not be a professional at all.

However, the biggest danger in treatment is the recommendations of impostors from the Internet — these are generalizations, often supplemented by colorful diagrams of body parts and beautiful infographics. Run if you are offered “ready-made solutions” in the spirit of: “Do your knees hurt? So you don’t want to go forward and develop”, “Does your right hand hurt? So you’re aggressive towards men.» There is no such direct connection: for each person, the disease plays an individual role.

It is possible to recover from «psychogenic diseases» only through long and painstaking work. Do not blame the circumstances, but pull yourself together, learn to manage your emotions, pass the test and begin to take responsibility for your life.