Psychotherapy And Psychosomatic Illnesses

Are you experiencing an illness that you cannot quite put a finger on? When you go to the hospital, they do your medical check-up and all necessary tests, but they are inconclusive. Or has this happened to your loved one? If that’s the case, you may be dealing with a psychosomatic illness/disorder. The question is, should you seek therapy when you experience psychosomatic illnesses? Read on; you will find your answer.
It is one of the most strange things that you can experience. You are physically unwell, but your problem has no medical explanation, so you become helpless and frustrated. It can be confusing and challenging, even for your loved ones.
You get peace when you answer the question of why. You may not know how to solve a problem, but knowing why gives you hope and direction in working toward possible solutions. Lacking that reason is confusing. Psychosomatic disorders do that.
Let’s alleviate some of your worries by shedding light on the unseen.
PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS

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Psychosomatic illnesses are sicknesses that cause unexplainable, inconclusive physiological issues. Most of these problems have no medical basis or explanation yet affect your physical body and health, for example, immunity, muscle aches, and respiratory systems.
When it comes to psychosomatic disorders, you treat the symptoms or presenting issues because the doctors do not know the specific disease.
Your mental well-being can affect your physiological health. It’s where the term psychosomatic came from, whereby psychological factors play a significant role in the origin and cause of physical sickness.
In my article on how chronic stress affects your immune system, you explore aspects of psychosomatic illnesses.
COUNSELING/PSYCHOTHERAPY

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You have come across counseling or psychotherapy. You can use these terms interchangeably.
Counseling is creating a relationship between a therapist/counselor and a client through a skilled process of exploring the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, allowing the client to become more self-aware and cope with daily life experiences.
As you go through different stages and levels of psychotherapy, you begin to deal with underlying issues that cause or aggravate physical conditions or illnesses. So, what is the relationship between psychological problems and physiological ones?
SIGNS OF PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS
Most people with psychosomatic illness do not recognize it as a psychological issue due to the physical nature of the presenting symptoms. You always pick it up as a physiological health issue, but after multiple tests, they still lack a medical explanation.
Imagine the frustration this comes with as you spend money, time, and energy, even changing healthcare professionals and trying out different medications, yet still getting no tangible explanation for your problem.
Some of the signs and symptoms of psychosomatic illnesses are:-
ISSUES WITH DIFFERENT ORGAN SYSTEMS
Psychosomatic illnesses can affect specific organ systems, causing abnormal functioning in them. Some of the clear signs of these disorders in each system are;-
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Respiratory System
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The respiratory system is the breathing system. The issues that come with this are breathing problems, coughing, shortness of breath, and tightening of the chest.
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Endocrine System

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The endocrine system deals with the production of hormones. Psychosomatic illnesses cause the reduction of, or the excess production of hormones like testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, insulin, etc.
The overproduction of or reduction of these hormones can cause changes in the menstrual cycle, moods, skin breakouts, etc. These psychological conditions can cause physiological problems.
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Digestive System
The digestive system deals with how food is ingested and digested within the body, all the way to excretion. Some psychological issues can cause bloating, gastrointestinal problems, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach upset, stomach ulcers, and constipation.
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Reproductive System
The reproductive system deals with the sexual organs. Physiological issues within this area are erectile dysfunction and low sex drive.
- Circulatory System

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The circulatory system deals with the flow of blood within the body and the blood vessels. Some issues here are high and low blood pressure.
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Central Nervous System
The system deals with how the brain and the spinal cord respond, process, and receive sensory information to the spinal cord. Psychosomatic illnesses can cause memory loss, temporary confusion, headaches, migraines, insomnia, and delusions.
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Immune system

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The immune system deals with how the body fights germs and diseases. It is the problem-solving mechanism of the body; antibodies, platelets, and white blood cells.
Psychological and emotional stressors increase the production of hormones like cortisol that, in turn, reduce the production of these antibodies; thus, the body becomes unable to fight off germs within the body.
As a result, if you face any injuries or sicknesses, your physical body takes time to heal and fend off the disease. It can cause general body weakness and symptoms like fever and fatigue.
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Muscular System

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The muscular system deals with the muscles and bones that support your body and allow somatic movement. Psychological disturbances can cause muscle aches, back pains, joint aches, neck pains, and even burning sensations in certain body parts.
Which one(s) have you ever experienced or heard your loved one say they experienced?
At this point, do you think you should seek therapy when you experience psychosomatic illnesses?
CAUSES OF PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS

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Most research states that stressors cause these illnesses or the hormones released during emotional stress.
Chronic stress is a significant factor in psychosomatic illnesses; thus, we’ve explored the causes of stress in-depth in my article on how stress affects your immune system. Additionally, therapy is the way to go when dealing with psychological issues.
Since these illnesses are the tip of the iceberg, the underlying issue is psychological. Without a doubt, that is why you need to seek therapy when you experience psychosomatic illnesses.
SHOULD YOU SEEK THERAPY WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESSES?
As you have seen, psychosomatic illnesses come from underlying psychological issues. The surest way of dealing with psychological difficulties is psychotherapy. From the definition of counseling/psychotherapy above, it is a process.
You get to explore different aspects of yourself with the help of a professional skilled to deal with them.

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HOW THERAPY DEALS WITH STRESSORS
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – The focus here is changing your thoughts, which affect your feelings and create/reinforce your current behaviors. As you explore and change them, you process your emotions, and it changes your behavior.
In turn, you can counter your negative thoughts and cognitive distortions with positive ones.
- Mindfulness therapy/ Relaxation Exercises – The activities or exercises that help you relax and manage stress, like deep breathing, imagery, meditation, gratitude, daily affirmations, and yoga.

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- Medication – As much as psychotherapy is paramount, in extreme cases of depression, chronic anxiety, and other conditions, pharmacotherapy is equally crucial. Along with therapy sessions, medication manages the illnesses so the client recuperates better.
- Psycho-education involves being taught basic life skills that you will work on and apply daily to help you cope with life stressors, for instance, lessons on stress and anger management techniques, self-awareness exercises, etc.
- Psychoanalysis explores your childhood and how it affects your adulthood, consciously or unconsciously. The eight stages of human development and the crisis at each stage shed light on the fixations causing current psychological disturbances.
- Extramural activities – Finally, extramural activities are practical things you do to explore aspects of the unconscious, for example, art therapy, dance therapy, storytelling, acting, and role-playing.

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OTHER WAYS TO DEAL WITH STRESS
- Support from others. Ask for help.
- Physical Exercise
- Sleeping and Resting
- Recreation
What other ways do you use to deal with stress? Let us know in the comments.

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In summary, due to the nature of the physical symptoms, your doctor must manage your current pain and aches. As you deal with psychological issues or stressors, you must also check the physical ones.
Managing migraines, aches, indigestion, blood pressure, and all other short-term pains and problems is crucial so that it doesn’t cause more stress. As you get long-term psychosocial support, you also meet and address the short-term needs so as not to aggravate the specific stressors.
As you explore the psychological part of the condition, you’ll see how psychosomatic illnesses begin to disappear. Psychological disturbances have so much to do with your physiological problems.
A Note from Breakthrough

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Psychotherapy is a lifestyle. Just like regular exercise, sleep, rest, and good nutrition are beneficial for your body and your physical well-being, a budget, and an audit are great for your financial health; just like reading your Bible, prayer, fasting, and worship are crucial for your spiritual wellness, so is counseling for your mental and emotional well-being.
You can position yourself for success when addressing your psychological concerns by seeing a therapist. Does that imply that you won’t face any difficulties? No, it simply means that you will discover constructive coping mechanisms.
It enables you to take more responsibility for your actions and choices. The best part is you are not going about all this alone but with someone that can understand and empathize with you, who is a trained, equipped, and experienced professional in offering psychosocial support.
After reading that, do you think you should seek therapy when you experience psychosomatic illnesses? Let me know your answer in the comments.
Writer,
Sheila K. Muli.
Counselor, Speaker, and Trainer.
As a nurse, we get such cases suites a lot. You get a patient with physiological presenting issues but after doing a number of tests.. Nothing comes up… It’s insightful to know emotional pain and stress has a lot to do with illnesses.
Wow. Thank you for sharing. It is amazing to see that these are things you also encounter in the medical world. Feel free to refer clients to us when you get such cases. Thank you.