Psychosomatic Symptoms

Physical symptoms that have no obvious cause can often be “psychosomatic”, which means that the origin of the problem is in the mind, rather than in the body.

In popular discourse, psychosomatic problems are often dismissed as being “all in the mind”, as though the person in question could simply decide not to experience the symptoms any more, and just get better.

The reality is much more complicated than that. Today we know that psychological issues such as stress and anxiety can lead to a wide range of very severe symptoms that can include pain, digestive disorders, skin problems and much more. These problems are all very real, and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, even when they are “all in the mind”. Furthermore, even conditions that do have an underlying physical cause can be made much worse by stress and anxiety; in this respect, practically every disease has a psychosomatic component. For example, the painful symptoms of a condition such as arthritis tend to be experienced as much more distressing and disruptive if the person is also depressed or anxious.

Psychosomatic symptoms can often manifest as symptoms that are also associated with serious health problems. Chest pain, for example, could indicate heart disease, or could result from a psychosomatic issue.