Institute Satori

Even in Ancient Greece, it was known that it is impossible to separate the health of the body from the health of the spirit. Plato said in one of his books that Greek physicians do not find a cure for many diseases because they do not take into account the whole, because a single part can never be healthy if it is not a healthy whole. In the 7th century, the three great philosophers Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza devoted themselves to investigating the connection between the corporeal world and the consciousness of the spirit. The founder of the term “psychosomatic” is the German general practitioner J. H. Heinroth (1818), who said that each stage of life can be the sole cause of the disorder in itself. Psychosomatic disorders have received a lot of attention in order to understand what is happening in humans and to find appropriate forms of help.

What is a psychosomatic disorder?

We speak of a psychosomatic disorder when a set of different interrelated influences, when unfavorable interconnected, develop into a disease and affect the overall functioning of an individual..

In everyday life, in various situations, we experience psychosomatic reactions, which are a normal response of the body to a stressful situation, for example, dizziness after a barely managed escape, loss of appetite at the loss of a loved one, etc. The symptoms usually disappear when the circumstance that triggered the stimuli subsides and can be experienced by anyone. The escalation of the psychosomatic reaction, however, affects the entire functioning of the individual and can develop into a psychosomatic disorder. Many problems begin to appear in different organs, or when the symptoms escalate, they recur, but medicine does not discover the cause through various tests.

Psychosomatic disorders today are understood as the result of factors that are intertwined – developmental, experiential and external influences that co-shape neurobiological events, which are also conditioned by different genetic makeup and flow into a disease in the event of an unfavorable interconnection. Psychosomatic disorders occur more often in those who react to greater loads and long-term stress through the body, who find it more difficult to recognize and express their emotions and they are reflected through the body’s reaction, and thus find it more difficult to find the causes of stress. The development of psychosomatic disorder is also significantly influenced by a fast lifestyle, insufficient time for proper nutrition, resorting to medication to relieve stress and long-term stress. Prolonged stress adversely affects the vegetative nervous system, which regulates the functioning of vital functions such as heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and metabolism, and weakens the immune system, which leads to the first symptoms of the disease, and later to organic defects. Where the disease develops depends on which organ is more sensitive with its genetic basis. Physical illness is an additional stress for the patient, which maintains a psychosomatic disorder. It affects all areas of individual activity.

In an increasing number of diseases, we recognize a psychosomatic origin

Today, a psychosomatic origin is increasingly recognized in many diseases, namely:

• In the field of detecting diseases of internal organs, the most common and noticeable are: permanently increased or decreased blood pressure (hypertonia or hypotonia), thyroid disorders, weakening of the heart muscles, sudden rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite, anorexia nervosa, excessive obesity, etc.  

• In the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, the most common are gastrointestinal bleeding, irritable bowel syndrome, certain diseases of the colon, constipation, diarrhea, etc.
• In the treatment of respiratory organs, lung diseases are characteristic, which are reflected in repeated attacks of shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing in the chest, chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract, sensitivity of the nasal mucosa, etc.
• In the urogenital area, the most common in women are vaginal inflammations and in men are inflammations of the prostate, which are considered one of the most common male diseases.
• The skin is considered to be an organ through which many emotional states are reflected, so many dermatological problems are associated with psychosomatics, namely various eczema, itchy skin or neurodermatitis, frequent rashes, etc.
• Medicine is also paying more and more attention to psychosomatics in the treatment of various recurrent childhood diseases and in discovering the causes of infertility.

Somatic disorders are expressed through physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained through medical knowledge. The symptoms cause serious problems to the patient, which in turn cause him psychological distress and affect his work and social life.

There are many complaints about physical problems on various organs. It is a chronic disease that affects the entire functioning of a person. It covers 0.1 – 0.2% of the population, with a ratio of 5:1 between women and men. In general practice, there are from 5-10% of patients who could be classified as psychosomatic patients. Some studies have shown that somatic disorders occur simultaneously with other mental disorders. In addition to somatic disorders, two-thirds of patients also have psychological problems.

Treatment methods

The treatment of psychosomatic disorders in general medicine is still carried out primarily through drug therapy. Today, doctors are increasingly aware that there are often many factors behind certain signs of the disease and do not attribute the disease exclusively to the physical aspect. One third of patients who visit a general practitioner suffer from functional or emotionally induced disorders. During acute diseases, the number of chronic disorders is increasing, which causes a wide variety of social problems.

Treatment of psychosomatic illness is long-term and requires the individual to develop tolerance towards himself and his illness, often also to reorganize his own life..

The modern approach to the disease is integrative, that is, it takes into account the genetic susceptibility of the individual, personality, the influence of the environment, past experiences, lifestyle, which influences the formation of various treatment approaches. In order to successfully treat a psychosomatic disorder, it is important to approach the disease holistically, namely to recognize the symptoms that indicate the possibility of developing psychosomatics as soon as possible and to seek appropriate treatment. In addition to medical treatment, which includes the detection of the disease and the treatment of symptoms, it is important to seek psychotherapeutic help, with the help of which the individual discovers the hidden causes of the psychosomatic disorder, helps to understand the disease and cope with it, and to develop tolerance towards oneself and one’s illness.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is such an important part of treatment. Through the process of therapy, the client, together with the therapist, will get to know and discover himself, his thoughts about himself, his disease. In order to increase the self-awareness of one’s body, feelings, and to relax the body and learn to cope with stress, learning various relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, autogenic training, etc., can be very useful in this process. Through this, the individual gradually begins to recognize his emotions and fears and face them. The goal of psychotherapy is the awareness and processing of unconscious emotions related to unconscious conflict and basic (so-called scripted) beliefs, which were formed very early and have a significant impact on the occurrence of psychosomatic illness and its maintenance, the transformation of negative thoughts about the disease, etc. It encourages the individual to get to know their own body and its functioning, to learn the appropriate way to cope with stress and to take greater care of themselves and their well-being, which is a fundamental step towards recognizing and preventing the occurrence of psychosomatic disorders.

Objavljeno v: Hišni zdravnik. Letnik 2, številka 5, Junij 2010, 12-13.​

dr. Tamara Trobentar, psihoterapevtka