Stress can cause serious illness.
According to WHO, about 25% of the world's population suffer from mental disorders of varying severity. In today's world around us, there is too much stress — from working with negative remarks from superiors and clients to social networks, where everything is teeming with nothing but frustration. We constantly sit in the computer and smartphones, rarely go outside not to get to the office or to the house, but just to walk or take a walk, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Domashniy Ochag.
According to the results of the study, anxiety and depressive disorders are registered in general in no less than 1/3 of visits.
Most consider psychosomatics not dangerous and do not even consider it as the main cause of their ailments or illnesses. However, it is worth exploring in more detail. According to B. Hodges, 60-70% of patients with anxiety and depression turn to doctors of various specialties with complaints of an exclusively somatic nature, that is, with complaints of changes in the function of internal organs.
Our body has a defense against changing influences — the vegetative system. It maintains the constancy of the composition and functions of the body. But with an increase in stress, at a certain point, a failure may occur. It is at this moment that the protection decreases sharply, and damage occurs in one or another organ.
Each of we have a so-called «weak spot». It is determined by hereditary factors and is formed in the process of life with damage to the autonomic nervous system.
Historically, doctors attribute the following conditions to psychosomatic diseases: Bronchial asthma
A disease accompanied by attacks of suffocation, lack of air. Often the onset of the disease, exacerbation and the attack itself provokes a situation of stress, in which a person, as it were, «cannot exhale» his problem. Under resting conditions, the disease may not manifest itself at all.
Ulcerative colitis
A disease whose cause is not completely clear. It is characterized by ulcerative damage to the intestines. Outwardly, it is accompanied by pain in the abdomen, a change in the stool, an admixture of blood in it. The trigger is often stress.
Essential hypertension
Everyone knows hypertension, an increase in blood pressure, not associated with a disease of other organs and systems. Very often, this disease begins in autonomic dysfunction, in which the patient may have a tendency to the so-called «high normal» blood pressure. Over time, defense mechanisms weaken. Any stress can lead to an increase in blood pressure, and over time this increase can become more persistent.
Neurodermatitis
A disease in which changes occur on the skin, accompanied by severe itching. There is also a connection with emotional overstrain, anxiety.
Peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum
Peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum — diseases most often associated with stress, accompanied by the formation of peptic ulcers in the stomach and/nbsp; or duodenum. There are known cases of lightning-fast development of such a disease.
Irritable bowel syndrome
With irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and «unprocessed emotions» play a psychological role in psychological terms. With this disease, patients note pain in the abdomen without a clear localization, bloating and disturbance of the stool. Moreover, in stressful conditions, the symptoms become especially pronounced.
Esophagospasm
With esophagospasm, the patient notes pain behind the sternum and a violation of the passage of food. Often, patients note that they can’t “swallow the insult”, no matter how. With stress, there is also an increase in symptoms
Biliary dyskinesia
It may be accompanied by pain both in the left and in the right hypochondrium of varying degrees of intensity associated with food intake. Such patients are usually in conditions of prolonged chronic overexertion.
Autoimmune diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which, for unclear reasons, the body begins to produce antibodies to the synovial membranes of the joints. In & nbsp; psychologically, this is more common in people who are dissatisfied with themselves, who direct «negative energy» at & nbsp; themselves. A similar mechanism can be considered in any autoimmune processes.
Psychosomatics play a huge role in the development of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and many others.
Very many patients note a direct relationship with stress in their disease.
And often you can notice an improvement in the state after resolving the problem, on vacation, especially during a change of scenery. One of my patients said that his illness begins and ends at passport control at the airport.
Is the vegetative system not working properly?
There are some signs that your autonomic nervous system is not working properly — sleep disturbance, decreased mood and memory, frequent mood swings, cold and wet hands and feet.
The situation is complicated by the fact that many of the psychosomatic diseases are functional. That is, they do not have structural damage to organs, and they are manifested exclusively by a disturbed function of the body. Although more and more often lately they talk about a possible simultaneous functional and organic disease of one organ. In scientific centers there are a large number of diagnostic methods aimed at registration of impaired organ function. However, in normal medical practice, impaired organ function is often difficult to measure with objective diagnostic methods. At such moments, unfortunately, often the patient is written off in the category of «light» or even malingerers. But it's not so. Such a patient may require more attention than a patient with an organic lesion.
What to do if you suspect psychosomatics?
Treatment of a psychosomatic illness must necessarily be complex. Moreover, the patient himself plays a leading role in this matter.
1. It is necessary to normalize the mode of the day. This does not mean that you should live by an alarm clock, but your day should have certain limits. It is very important to get up and at the same time to go to bed, set aside certain hours for eating.
2. When working, be sure to take small breaks so that you have the opportunity to rest and recover.
3. Daily physical activity is one of the best means for emotional release. Walking in the fresh air, exercising, swimming, cycling — choose the type of activity that suits you.
4. Don't forget what makes you happy. Favorite activities are often postponed until later, and we devote time only to our duties. Take at least a few minutes every day to do something nice for yourself.