Psychosomatics of Diseases, Psychological Causes of Illnesses

Have you ever considered that a headache or muscle tension might not just be the result of a hard day, but an indicator of overall distress? Psychosomatics of diseases is a field of medical psychology that studies the connection between bodily problems and psychological causes. It is commonly said that all diseases stem from nerves and stress. The question is, why and for what purpose do we get these diseases?

Human Diseases and Their Psychological Preconditions

Illness indicates a person’s internal disorder and disharmony with the Universe. Disease is a specific way the body protects us from our own destructive thinking. To cure diseases with a nervous basis, one needs to change their thinking and behavior.

The connection between soul and body was noted by Socrates, but psychosomatics as an independent direction emerged in 1818. In this year, German doctor Heinroth was able to officially prove the connection between diseases and stress. Since then, the psychology of diseases has been actively developing, but the main classification of psychosomatic diseases remains the same as hundreds of years ago.

Classification of Psychosomatic Disorders

There are two types of psychosomatic responses and disorders:

1. Psychosomatic reactions are short-term and situational: blushing from shame, sweaty palms, hoarse voice, goosebumps, loss of appetite, etc.
2. Psychosomatic disorders are persistent, manifesting in the dysfunction of systems or organs.

Disorders, in turn, are divided into three groups:

• Conversion symptoms. Unpleasant emotions manifest as real physical symptoms: a lump in the throat (suppressed resentment), numbness of limbs (fear), deterioration of hearing or vision (unwillingness to see or hear something).
• Functional syndromes. Pain appears, but physiological reasons are not diagnosed: vegetative-vascular dystonia, cystalgia, lumbago, cephalgia.
• Psychosomatic diseases. Noticeable symptoms and real disorders in organs: hypertension, ulcers, asthma, neurodermatitis, colitis, arthritis, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, etc. These diseases require a comprehensive approach in treatment and diagnosis: medicine + psychology.

Interesting! Initially, only 7 diseases were classified as psychosomatic (the Chicago Seven), but the list is constantly being updated. Today, stress is recognized as a precursor to any physiological disorder.

Predisposition to Diseases: Body Signals

Pain is the body’s most accessible way to hint at psychological problems. However, attention should be paid to the area where the pain occurs:

• Head – stress, exhaustion, anxiety;
• Neck – resentment, suppressed emotions, restriction of self-expression;
• Chest – lack of support, imposing care on others;
• Shoulders – pressure from others, emotional exhaustion;
• Lower back – worries related to money and material values;
• Stomach – inability to accept or cope with a situation;
• Elbows – rigidity;
• Wrists – lack of friends;
• Arms – unloved work;
• Palms – fear of loneliness;
• Pelvis – fear of leaving the comfort zone;
• Knees – excessive egoism, egocentrism;
• Shins – jealousy;
• Ankles – self-destructive tendencies, inability to rest and relax;
• Feet – apathy, fear of the future.

In psychodiagnostics, it’s important to consider not only the severity of symptoms and their location but also the side of the body. In psychosomatics, the right side corresponds to male energy, while the left corresponds to female energy.

Psychological Causes of Diseases

Negative thinking, destructive behavior, low stress resilience, and weak psychological defenses lead to diseases. The specific psychological causes of diseases and stress include:

• Resentment;
• Burden of the past;
• Lack of support;
• Rigidity;
• Financial difficulties;
• Fear of change;
• Loneliness;
• Egoism and egocentrism;
• Jealousy;
• Dependencies (on people, psychoactive substances, games, etc.);
• Apathy;
• Dissatisfaction with oneself, life, work;
• Non-acceptance of oneself and others;
• Family and work conflicts;
• Uncertainty;
• Complexes;
• Anger;
• Guilt;
• Shame;
• Fears;
• Rage;
• Greed;
• Sadness;
• Disgust;
• Attraction.

All emotions, both positive and negative, have great energy. If it does not find an outlet, the person becomes ill. Suppressing love or joy is as dangerous as suppressing anger or irritation.

Sources of Psychosomatic Diseases

Not only suppressed emotions lead to psychosomatic diseases. Conflicts, lack of motivation, self-doubt, and self-suggestion also contribute. Let’s look at these factors in more detail:

• Intrapersonal conflict. Most often arises between “want” and “should,” i.e., between desires and obligations, leading to self-rejection, resentment towards life, and anger at others.
• Parental attitudes. Not all parents recognize their child as a person, respect their uniqueness and interests. Not all are free from stereotypes themselves, teaching children to suppress negativity: “don’t cry, you’re a boy,” “your opinion doesn’t matter here,” “with your character, you’ll always be alone.”
• Organic speech and self-suggestion. Remember how often we say phrases like “this makes me sick,” “you give me a headache,” “I can’t stand such people.” The body perceives this as a signal to act.
• Identification, subconscious imitation. We tend to adopt the habits and qualities of those important to us, sometimes even their illnesses.
• Self-punishment. Chronic guilt compels a person to destroy their own life, constantly punishing themselves through illnesses.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Unprocessed traumas weigh heavily on the soul, constantly inflaming as various illnesses.

Freud’s Theory

Freud’s conversion theory made a significant contribution to the development of psychosomatics. The psychoanalyst discovered that people can repress unpleasant memories and emotions to the unconscious level. Likewise, forbidden desires contradicting social norms are repressed. However, these suppressed components don’t vanish. They continue to affect the individual internally, often beyond their conscious understanding, leading to neurosis.

Greeting from the Past

Expanding on the previous theory, Freud and his followers delved into what our diseases communicate. They found that a psychosomatic ‘trigger’ can have a delayed effect, often in response to problems in parental relationships, disrupted socialization, or imposed self-realization. Some parents try to fulfill their dreams through their children, often in conflict with the child’s nature.

Mother-Child Relationship

The nature of the relationship between mother and child is crucial. Harmful parenting styles include:

• Anxious: the mother transfers her anxiety and hypochondria to the child, forming a mindset of illness and external world dangers.
• Ambivalent: the mother is inconsistent in judgments and actions, causing the child to grow up anxious.
• Avoidant: the mother fails to meet the child’s needs, leading to a deficiency of love, attention, and care.
• Disorganized: the mother is unpredictable in reactions, often resorting to violence.

Philosophical Approach

From a philosophical perspective, diseases indicate living a life contrary to one’s needs, interests, and individual-psychological characteristics. Karma sends diseases until the individual understands what contradicts their soul. The illness teaches and guides, revealing messages from the soul through the body.

Predispositions

Business coach and psychologist M. Palchik developed a concept dividing the body and soul into several levels, each with its own psychosomatic predispositions.

Physical Body

Sometimes we forget about our body. Engrossed in work, we neglect nutrition, abandon exercise, and avoid going outdoors. Illness might be the only way for the body to remind us of its existence.

Emotional States

Some suffer from alexithymia and underdeveloped emotional intelligence, unable to identify and verbally express their feelings. Learning to answer “What am I feeling now?” and verbalizing emotions can help retreat psychosomatics.

Values

Healthy and harmonious development requires principles and a value system influencing life goals and methods to achieve them. However, value systems often disintegrate and rebuild over time. Consider whether your value system is stable and if not, redefine what is important in life.

Purpose

Values and worldview are intimately connected to life’s meaning and self-determination. Can you answer “Why am I living?” If not, this uncertainty might be deteriorating your well-being.

Physiology

Modern psychosomatics discovered a link between human constitution and disease predisposition, based on Kretschmer’s theory. He identified four body types: asthenic, athletic, pyknic, and dysplastic, with asthenics more prone to psychosomatic disorders.

Character

Personality type and character traits also influence psychosomatic susceptibility. Those with epileptoid and hysteric personality traits are at higher risk.

Table of Correlations Between Somatic Diseases and Psychological Preconditions

Over the years, psychosomatic theorists and practitioners have managed to explain all known diseases and ailments. We invite you to explore the tables of three popular psychologists in the field of psychosomatics: V. Sinelnikov, Louise Hay, Liz Bourbo.

Complete Table by Sinelnikov

V. Sinelnikov elucidates the metaphysical meaning of each organ and system, as well as explains the origins of somatic diseases and how emotions and diseases are connected. Sinelnikov considers karmic and energetic causes of diseases.

Louise Hay’s Table of Disease Causes

Louise Hay’s disease table is arranged in alphabetical order. In addition to explaining the causes and psychological equivalents of diseases, a healing affirmation is provided for each problem. You can view the full table of disease causes by Louise Hay in another article on our site (“Mental Causes of Various Diseases”) and in the author’s book “Heal Your Body.”

Liz Bourbo’s Table of Diseases

Liz Bourbo’s table is presented as an alphabetical directory of diseases. For each disease, a description of physical characteristics, mental causes, and methods of blocking (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) is provided. You can familiarize yourself with the table on our site (article “Healing according to Liz Bourbo’s Theory. Your Body Says: Love Yourself”) and in the author’s book “Your Body Says: Love Yourself!”

Interesting! Other psychologists also study psychosomatics of diseases, such as V. Zhikarentsev, Inna Segal, Luule Viilma, O. Torsunov. You can learn about their theories in the authors’ books: “Path to Freedom. Karmic Causes of Problems, or How to Change Your Life,” “The Secret Language of Your Body: The Psychosomatics of Ailments and Diseases,” “The Big Book of Health,” “The Connection of Diseases with Character.”