Psycho Somatic

A psychosomatic disorder is an illness that connects the mind and body. This occurs in such a way that the physiological functioning of the body is affected by the psychological tensions that either causes a disease or worsen the pre-existing disease in a person.

It is also known as a Psycho-physiologic disorder. An improper stimulation of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates the functions of the internal organs, is responsible for the evolution of this disorder and leads to impairment of the functional organs. A broad range of physical diseases and conditions may be especially prone to be made worse by mental factors. These include skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis; high blood pressure; heart problems and more. Psychosomatic disorders frequently affect the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems as well as the cardiovascular system.

Psychosomatic disorders can have mild to severe effects on one’s quality of life, from interfering with the normal ability to function to cause physical or mental disability.

Types of psychosomatic disorder

There are three general categories of psychosomatic illness. In the first one, a person has both mental and physical illness, whose symptoms and management complicate each other. The second category involves a person who experiences mental issues due to the medical condition and its treatment. For example, patients feeling depressed because they have cancer and are taking treatment for it. The third kind is called somatoform disorder. It is a condition in which a person with mental illness experiences one or more physical symptoms, even if he does not have any associated medical condition. Somatoform illness is further classified as follows:

• Hypochondriasis: This is a condition in which the individual has a pervasive fear of illness and disease.  Persons with this disorder overreact to a missed heartbeat, shortness of breath and a slight chest pain. They often change doctors, moving from one to another searching for a diagnosis that matches their own.
• Conversion disorder: When a person who does not have any medical illness experiences neurological symptoms such as seizures, which have an effect on movement and senses, it is a conversion disorder.
• Somatization disorder: Here, an individual feels frequent headaches and has diarrhoea, which does not have any relation to a serious medical condition.
• Body dysmorphic disorder: A person gets stressed about the appearance of their bodies such as wrinkles and obesity. Here the person severely gets affected by anorexia.
• Pain disorder: Here, a person senses severe pain over any part of the body, which might last for six months to one year, without any physical cause. For example, migraines, tension headaches, back pain, etc.

Treatment

Cognitive behaviour therapy  (CBT) is often the treatment of choice for a psychosomatic disorder. This therapy helps patients learn new ways to cope with and solve their problems as they gain a deeper understanding of their condition or circumstances. Patients will also learn to set realistic life goals and identify and change behaviours or thoughts that have negative effects on their lives.