Today I would like to start a series of talks about psychosomatics. Many years of experience of my work with psychological problems of clients gives me a lot of evidence of the validity of psychosomatic approaches to the causes of many diseases. I'm not talking about those cases when a person got under the car or got on the head with something heavy. I'm against all extremes.
Before we turn to specific examples, I would like to say a few introductory words. Perhaps, this part will seem boring to somebody, then I invite you to join us about a week later, when we move on to concrete examples. Those who want to understand everything consistently, I invite you to join us today.
The term psychosomatics is derived from two Greek words ψυχή - the soul and σῶμα - the body. Psychosomatics is considered as a separate direction in medicine (psychosomatic medicine) and psychology, which studies the influence of psychological factors on the onset and flow of somatic (bodily) diseases. Psychosomatics examines the relationship between personality characteristics (constitutional features, personality traits, personality styles, behavioral patterns, types of emotional conflicts) and somatic diseases. There is an opinion (including in alternative medicine) that all human diseases arise because of psychological inconsistencies and disorders that occur in the soul, in the subconscious, in the thoughts of man (Wikipedia).
The doctrine of psychosomatics can’t be called new. Even 2400 years ago Socrates claimed that there was no bodily disease separate from the psychic. Later his pupil Plato said: "A great mistake is made where the physicians and mental illnesses are treated by different doctors, since the body is inseparable from the soul." In 1818 the German physician Heinrot published the conclusion that organic diseases are rooted in the psyche. At that time he was simply ridiculed by his colleagues, and not for the triviality of his view, but for what he considered possible to consider psychosomatics, as he then called his approach, as a division of medical science.
So the mistake, which lies in the inability to recognize the essence behind what we see, continues to be repeated from century to century. Instead of approaching the treatment in a comprehensive way, to study the body, soul and spirit in their totality and interrelations, the doctors increasingly deep the narrow specialization. Soon we will come to the point that for each organ of the human body there will be a separate doctor, but no one will regard the human body as a system. This is a disaster!
Simple observation is enough to state with certainty that our body reacts to our inner emotional state. We blush when we are embarrassed, we become pale when we are very frightened. All emotional experiences manifest themselves bodily. What worries the soul, worries the body. Such impacts can have both positive and negative consequences. Joyful experiences can promote recovery, and negative ones, on the contrary, can provoke the disease.
And yet many people deny psychosomatics, in the same paradoxical way that one doctor used to say: "As soon as I hear this nonsense about psychosomatics, I have spasms in my stomach ..."
Indeed, there are a number of well-established expressions that reflect the reaction of our organization to certain situations or people: "I'm sick of you!", "I get it under my skin!", "It is nerve-racking!" etc. By the way, it is believed that the frequent use of these speech cliches can provoke the disease: Ordered? Get it!
In conclusion of this little introductory part, I want to note that I do not in any way discourage you from contacting doctors! Address to a doctor is a must! Considering the issues of psychosomatic diseases, we will only learn to approach the understanding of their causes more consciously.
To be continued..