In medicine, psychosomatics is the holistic doctrine that seeks to understand and explore the connections between the body (soma) and the mind (psyche).
According to current knowledge, our human nervous system is the most complicated and complex in the entire universe. It is therefore hardly surprising that it can also be very susceptible to disorders. Thus, some people have complaints, which, however, cannot be adequately diagnosed and classified by medicine at first. The medical profession finds no lasting evidence that something is organically or physically wrong.
The so-called somatoform disorders include diseases that cause physical complaints but have psychological causes.
Possible causes
- Mental illnesses are still stigmatized in our society, whereas in the case of physical causes, the social environment largely reacts with care and understanding.
- It is difficult to admit to oneself that one is mentally ill
- Physical diseases are more “tangible” and better known. There are laboratory values and diagnostic equipment that can show them.
Especially people who have problems expressing their feelings, who have been trained by their parents that this is not good, are predisposed to develop somatoform disorders.
Here is a brief overview of somatoform disorders:
- Conversion disorders
- somatization disorders
- Hypochondria
- Body dysmorphic disorders
- Psychophisiological disorders
- Cancer*
- benign
- malignant
- Asthma*
- Hypertension*
- heart attack*
- Anorexia nervosa* Anorexia (anorexia nervosa)*
- Overeating (Bullemia nervosa)*
* Of course, these diseases are physical. However, psychotherapeutic attention is considered to reduce suffering and promote recovery.