The concept of "psychosomatic" was introduced into medical terminology by the German physician Johann-Christian Heinroth in 1818, when he wrote about the causes of insomnia. But people have known about the exceptional importance of understanding the unity of soul and body (in Greek, psycho - soul, soma - body) for a long, long time. Moreover, this ancient knowledge about the unity of the mental and the physical in man was basic in all known cultures and has been successfully used for centuries to treat almost any disease. We are not talking about shamanism and esoteric practices, but about an integrated approach to a person, where all the factors of his existence are taken into account - breathing, food, lifestyle, social behavior. Anything that, to one degree or another, affects his health. Methods for the prevention and treatment of diseases, practicing the correction of the psychological properties of the individual,were used in ancient India and in ancient China. Thus, ancient Indian doctors believed that anger, longing, sadness and fear are the first steps on the ladder of any disease.
The ancient philosopher Socrates argued that all diseases of the body are associated with mental pain, and Plato, a student of Socrates, wrote that one cannot heal the body without paying attention to mental ailments, since the body and soul are inseparable. The famous ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered the father of modern medicine, also spoke about the unity of the physical and spiritual in a person and called for the treatment to eliminate the cause of the disease, and not to eliminate the symptoms of the disease. Hippocrates' doctrine of human nature was aimed at developing preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic methods that made it possible to detect the tendency of patients to certain pathologies and prevent the development of such pathologies. Hippocrates was convinced of the need to study human nature and various aspects of his life, including nutrition, behavior and mental functions,to effectively fight ailments. It was Hippocrates who introduced the concept of "temperament" into science (translated from Latin, this word means "the proper ratio of parts"). By temperament the great scientist of antiquity understood both physiological and individual psychological characteristics of a person. Hippocrates identified four temperaments - sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. Depending on the temperament, in particular, the tendency to certain diseases was assumed. The school of Hippocrates is called the direct successors of the ideas of the founder of scientific medicine, this is the first natural science school that identified the problem of individual differences in the approach to healing. By temperament the great scientist of antiquity understood both physiological and individual psychological characteristics of a person. Hippocrates identified four temperaments - sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. Depending on the temperament, in particular, the tendency to certain diseases was assumed. The school of Hippocrates is called the direct successors of the ideas of the founder of scientific medicine, this is the first natural science school that identified the problem of individual differences in the approach to healing. By temperament the great scientist of antiquity understood both physiological and individual psychological characteristics of a person. Hippocrates identified four temperaments - sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. Depending on the temperament, in particular, the tendency to certain diseases was assumed. The school of Hippocrates is called the direct successors of the ideas of the founder of scientific medicine, this is the first natural science school that identified the problem of individual differences in the approach to healing. The school of Hippocrates is called the direct successors of the ideas of the founder of scientific medicine, this is the first natural science school that identified the problem of individual differences in the approach to healing. The school of Hippocrates is called the direct successors of the ideas of the founder of scientific medicine, this is the first natural science school that identified the problem of individual differences in the approach to healing.
In modern science, the psychoanalytic concept of Sigmund Freud has played an important role in the revival of interest in the psychosomatic approach. According to Freud, those experiences that consciousness cannot accept are forced out into the unconscious, but continue to affect a person, increasing psycho-emotional stress. This tension has no outlet, discharge and, as a result, leads to somatic (bodily) disorders. Freud and his followers comprehensively studied the relationship between repressed experiences and the development of various diseases, many of their conclusions have been repeatedly confirmed by medical practice and are indisputable scientific facts.
Modern psychological science identifies a number of reasons for psychosomatic reactions. Using the classification of the American psychotherapist Leslie Lecron, the following causes of psychosomatic diseases can be called the most typical:
Conflict between different parts of the same personality. Such "parts" can be, for example, opposite desires or personal aspirations. In this case, with the conditional victory of one of the parts, the second begins to gradually manifest itself, create a hidden, but significant tension, which causes psychosomatic symptoms.
Language of the body. An example of expressions of such a language can be phraseological units such as "this is my headache", "because of him my heart is out of place", "I can't digest it", "it binds my hands." When a situation or an experience in consciousness is associated with a certain painful or uncomfortable sensation, this sensation can be realized by an actual disease of any organs or systems of the body - headache, difficulty breathing, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, and so on.
Conditional benefit or “negative” motivation. This happens when health problems bring some benefit to the sick person. The symptoms of such psychosomatic disorders are not simulation, deception, they are formed on an unconscious level, the person does not understand that with the help of the disease he is trying to solve a problem or achieve the desired goal.
Experience of the past. Something happened to a person in the distant past, for example, in childhood, the situation outwardly has already been resolved, but internally continues to influence the person, weigh him down. Against this background, psychosomatic illness can develop.
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Suggestion. The emergence of symptoms through suggestion sometimes occurs under the influence of people who are especially authoritative for a person, or at the time of a specific unstable state of the psyche, when a person is inclined to succumb to suggestion.
Self-punishment. Psychosomatic symptoms can appear when a person is unable to forgive themselves. Regardless of whether the guilt is real or imagined, a person can become seriously ill, as if punishing himself. So, in an effort to avoid the torment of conscience, he can doom himself to bodily torment.
Also significant for understanding the nature of psychosomatic disorders is the concept of alexithymia (the term translated from Greek literally means "the absence of words to denote emotions"). According to this concept, the following personality traits can act as a risk factor for psychosomatic diseases:
- difficulty in identifying your own feelings;
- inability to express feelings experienced;
- Difficulty distinguishing between feelings and bodily sensations (“I’m either sad or hungry”);
- poverty of fantasy and other manifestations of imagination;
- focusing on external events, rather than internal experiences.
Despite the controversy surrounding psychosomatic medicine, modern science recognizes the exceptional importance of the psychosomatic approach in the diagnosis and prevention of many diseases. So after a rather long period of oblivion, the principles laid down in its foundation by Hippocrates return to European medicine - in the structure of the human body, the mental and physical (soul and body) are one.
Ustinova Julia, Clinical psychologist. Certified specialist in psychotherapy for psychosomatic disorders, existential psychotherapy and group therapy, oncopsychology