Psychosomatics: what is it?

Psychosomatics examines the interaction of body and soul. It deals with the question of how psychological influences affect the body and what effect, on the contrary, physical diseases have on mental processes. The mutual influence of body and soul on each other has been repeatedly confirmed by scientific research.

How do body and soul interact?

For example, if excessive psychological stress is not compensated , a person may become ill or be diagnosed with organ dysfunction . Conversely, “physical” illnesses such as cancer , stroke or HIV infection can have a very negative effect on a person’s mental state.

Already in the 1970s, Thure von Uexküll, a German pioneer of psychosomatics , introduced the term “biopsychosocial system”. He emphasized that all diseases are related to biological ( organic and bodily) functions and psychological (mental) functions. In addition, the profession also plays a big role, as well as the environment in which a person lives and some other social conditions. According to the Portuguese-American neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, psyche, spirit and body with motor and vegetative (involuntary) reactions form a unity. All human experiences are stored in so-called “networks of nerve cells” based on their perception. Therefore, conflicts or traumatization manifest themselves not only on the psychological level, but also on the physical level.

Scientific models clarifying psychosomatics

Among other things, neuroscientists are concerned with the fact that behind all learning processes is a change in connections in the nervous system . We are talking about neuroplasticity here. Eric Kandel, a famous Nobel laureate, even believed that connections in the brain change when two people talk to each other and remember the conversation (such as in psychotherapy ).

In the 1980s, the field of psychoneuroimmunology was formed, which tries to clarify the connections between the psyche and the body, especially the immune system . Our brain can influence the defense mechanisms on the one hand through the sympathetic and vagus nerves (both are part of the autonomic nervous system – a person cannot control it by will) and on the other hand through hormones (such as cortisol ). Cortisol can, for example, block the immune system during stress or severe depression . This increases susceptibility to infections in stressed people.

The emergence of psychosomatic diseases

The processes leading to the emergence of psychosomatic problems are complex. Genetic , biological, social and psychological influences contribute to the development of psychosomatic diseases . Several mutually independent theories try to explain the mechanism of psychosomatic diseases, which we will briefly outline here.

Conversion theory

Conversion means “rewind”. We speak of a conversion symptom when a person cannot experience an important inner desire, or cannot even think about it, because it is completely taboo for him. This creates an unconscious conflict that is transferred (“overwhelming”) to the physical level and manifests itself in symptoms such as pain, illness, or other physical discomfort that has no obvious organic cause.

Vegetative neurosis

The theory of vegetative neurosis has already been overcome, but the following findings still form the basis of psychosomatics:

Feelings such as fear, anger or disappointment are associated with responses of the autonomic nervous system. A person can feel intense heart palpitations, sweat, blood pressure increases , etc. These are reactions of the body that are very old from an evolutionary point of view and were once necessary for the body to be able to react to the danger lurking in the surroundings. However, a contemporary person should be able to realize their feelings so that they do not “accumulate”. It is not good to be “eaten” by emotions .

Psychotherapy tries to enable new insights – to reconnect feelings with vegetative reactions and move them into the patient’s consciousness. Sometimes it is possible to transform negative emotions into positive feelings and thereby disrupt them (for example, by looking not only at the disadvantages, but also at the advantages of a certain situation).

Theory of desomatization and resomatization

This model is based on the idea that different organ systems come into focus during childhood development . Already Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), for example, assigned the first months of an infant’s life to the oral-dermatological phase (the mouth and skin are in the foreground in this phase ).

If parents pay attention to these organ systems, positive experiences are associated with them (for example, baby massages in the oral-dermatological phase), which, according to this theory, supports the child’s development. Organ systems at a given stage mean more than just food or drink, for example. They also mean emotion and closeness. Values ​​that are early in development, such as love and affection, are thought to underlie the ability to cope with various demands at later stages of life (for example, readiness to perform).

Stress theory

There is still no universally accepted model of stress. According to the “father” of stress theory, Hans Selye, there are two types of stress:

• eustress – challenge, life-stimulator, enhancement of performance and creativity, etc., so-called “positive” stress,
• distress – coping mechanisms are exhausted and overloaded, so-called “negative” stress.

Today, however, it is believed that there is only one type of stress. Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant depends on

• how long the stress lasts
• how strong is
• whether it is associated with a situation or task that one believes one can handle.

If a person does not take any “rescue” measures in case of permanent stress, such as relaxation , changing the situation, resolving the conflict, etc., the body constantly flushes out cortisol. This stress can make a person sick. Examples of situations that can lead to a continuous release of cortisol are intractable conflicts, overload at work or school, problems in the family and many others. At this stage, a person may become withdrawn and develop depression, burnout, or other ailments. Chronic stress also weakens the immune system.

Other factors that can contribute to the development of psychosomatic diseases include poverty, lack of or excessive self-love/self-acceptance or insufficient definition, acceptance of the role of victim, insufficient ability to solve problems, etc.