Is it true that psychosomatics does not exist?

On the Internet you can find two polar beliefs regarding psychosomatics. Some believe that most health problems are caused by nerves, while others are confident that no negative emotions can cause real problems in the body. We decided to figure out which position is supported by scientific data.

The question of whether there are diseases of a psychosomatic nature is asked not only by ordinary people. users social networks and bloggers, but also many authoritative media, for example "Rain", RBC And "Postscience" . So-called Instagram psychologists also focus on this topic. They are ready to use this term to explain a wide variety of diseases and disorders: sinusitis, extra weight, problems with teeth, acne, failures menstrual cycle, cystitis, prostate cancer and genital herpes. Numerous coaches explain psychosomatics with “fear maps”. So, they cause sore throats think that a person “holds back from rude words”, appendicitis is caused by “fear of life”, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (which was diagnosed by the world famous physicist Stephen Hawking) arises due to the “lack of desire to recognize one’s own worth”, hemorrhoids signal the “fear of not meeting the allotted time”, and a viral infection (including Covid, apparently) - about the “lack of joy in life”. Treatment of psychosomatic diseases is offered affirmations, marathons wishes and visits various trainings.

The term “psychosomatics” itself is derived from two ancient Greek roots: ψυχή - “soul” and σῶμα - “body”. The idea that the health of the body and thoughts are connected goes back to Antiquity. For example, Plato wrote: “Just as one should not try to treat the eyes separately from the head and the head separately from the body, so one should not treat the body without treating the soul, and Hellenic doctors had failures in treating many diseases precisely when they did not recognize the need to take care of the whole, and yet if the whole is in bad condition, then the part cannot be in order.” Moreover, the term “psychosomatics” appeared only in 1818 in the writings of the German physician Johann Christian Heinroth. Issues of psychosomatics were engaged also Carl Jacobi, Sigmund Freud, Franz Alexander, Jacob Moreno and Ivan Pavlov. In the 1980s, the American woman Louise Hay began to popularize the trend, setting out her concept in the book “You Can Heal Your Life.” She claimed, that with the right affirmations (mental attitudes) she cured herself of cervical cancer, which she contracted due to sexual abuse suffered in childhood, and also convinced her followers that HIV infection occurs due to a lack of maternal love, and offered to treat it by hugging teddy bears. It was Louise Hay who developed the first “fear map”, which, with some modifications, is promoted by her followers today.

Neither in International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th revision, nor in ICD-11 the term “psychosomatic diseases” does not appear. Moreover, in ICD-10 there is a section closest to psychosomatics in class F - “Mental disorders and behavioral disorders” called "Somatoform disorders". These disorders are described as follows: “Repeated presentation of somatic symptoms simultaneously with persistent demands for medical examinations, despite repeated negative results and assurances from doctors that the symptoms are not of a somatic nature. If the patient has any physical illnesses, they do not explain the nature and severity of the patient’s symptoms or suffering or complaints.” Diseases of this group include This includes hypochondria, dysmorphophobia (aversion to one’s own body), psychogenic itching, psychogenic pain in the back and head, as well as some forms of diarrhea, hiccups, frequent urination and other ailments. It is worth paying attention to the difference between somatoform diseases and psychosomatics in the understanding of Instagram psychologists: the former are not confirmed by the results of diagnostics and examinations, while the latter can be identified based on test results and functional diagnostic methods (for example, ultrasound or ECG). It is also important to note that with somatoform diseases we are always talking about the patient having increased anxiety about his health.

At the same time, almost each of us is familiar with situations in which, against a background of anxiety and stress, certain bodily manifestations arose: the heartbeat accelerated, a feeling of a lump in the throat or lack of air appeared, or a tight stomach before an important meeting. All these symptoms went away on their own immediately after the resolution of the emotional tension. Practicing doctors also talk about more rare manifestations. “The man lost his speech after his wife voluntarily and compulsorily took him with her to the birth. He looked at everything and became speechless at some point,” tells Natalya Fomicheva, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Head of the Department of Psychotherapy at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis. Various researchers have tried to calculate the percentage of psychosomatic complaints (that is, not confirmed by laboratory and functional tests) among all visits to doctors. The spread was impressive: from 20% to 84% Patients reported chest pain, dizziness, headache, insomnia, impotence, weight loss, cough or constipation, but no physical damage to the relevant organs could be detected.

It has been proven that chronic stress, depression and depression, as well as elevated cortisol levels, negatively affect our health. Thus, in experiments on mice, these factors cheated the work of mitochondria, provoked relapses of cancer, called atherosclerotic vascular lesions and diabetes diabetes second type. In observations of people, scientists came to the conclusion that high levels of anxiety can be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, in particular heart attacks. And according to conclusions According to the American Psychological Association, stress negatively affects the entire body, including the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous and reproductive systems. Chronic stress is the most important factor in triggering psychosomatic diseases. So, researchers from Wayne State University notedthat such disorders were more often detected in those emigrants from Iraq who witnessed the hostilities of 1991, compared to those who left the country before they began.

Today, scientists agree that there are at least seven diseases, the trigger or exacerbation of which can be caused by mental factors. These include: bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis, hypertension, gastric and duodenal ulcers, thyrotoxicosis, ulcerative colitis, some also allow the inclusion of rheumatoid arthritis in this list. In English literature these diseases are called "holy seven" (or "Chicago Seven") psychosomatics. There is no scientific consensus regarding some other pathologies, although some experts thinkthat they may be of a psychosomatic nature. These are, in particular, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, other types of dermatitis, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation). At the same time, most of what coaches and bloggers who call themselves psychologists classify as psychosomatics has a well-proven biological origin. So, angina - most often a bacterial disease caused by streptococci or staphylococci, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is partially has genetic nature, hemorrhoids arises due to increased pressure in the veins of the hemorrhoidal plexus, and viral infections (including covid) develop due to viruses entering the body. 

Thus, psychosomatic diseases do exist, but their list is limited to only a few diagnoses. It is important to understand that by this term, evidence-based medicine specialists mean exclusively diseases that can arise or worsen due to stress, and not a mythologized concept that explains problems with one or another organ by suppressing some emotions. Moreover, true psychosomatics are treated by medical specialists using psychotherapy techniques and prescribing medication when necessary, and not by positive thinking and repetition of special affirmations.

Half-truth

What do our verdicts mean?

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