The Interaction of Body and Mind The concept of psychosomatic
illness Psycho, refers to mind, and soma, to body.
Psychosomatic illness is the occurrence of bodily symptoms(症状) which are
psychological or emotional in origin. Mind and body are not
separate; one affects and is affected by the other. Who has not experienced some
physical manifestation of emotional stress Such experiences as a headache after
a quarrel and urinary frequency or diarrhea before an examination are not
uncommon, and for most people they are of a temporary nature. The symptoms
disappear and are forgotten after the crisis has passed. No treatment may be
needed, or the patient may use simple remedies to relieve the discomfort. One
person may find that a leisurely walk is the best cure for a headache; another
may take aspirin. Certain conditions have been considered
classic examples of psychosomatic illness: pepticulcer, eczema, colitis, and
asthma. Personality profiles have been developed to describe the typical
characteristics of persons who develop such illness. Another point of view is
that human beings are more complex and varied in their responses than such
profiles would indicate, and that the type of illness a patient develops in
relation to stress varies with many additional factors, such as heredity and
environment. Much remains to be learned about the relationship between stress
and physical illness. Physical symptoms, such as palpitation,
sweating, or disturbance of sleep, which reflect anxiety, may occur over a
prolonged period. The symptoms may seem mysterious and threatening, because the
patient is unaware of their cause. The patient whose heart beats more rapidly
and forcefully as a manifestation of anxiety may report this symptom to his
doctor, believing that something is wrong with his heart. Often the patient is
not aware that he is anxious. He knows only that his heart keeps pounding for no
apparent reason. Almost any symptom can have its origin in
emotional stress. Some patients almost invariably have the same stress when they
become anxious. One may have diarrhea, another asthma, and a third may develop
hives or eczema. Some people develop two or several different symptoms; often
the symptoms are experienced in an alternating fashion. The
development of bodily symptoms is only one manifestation of anxiety. It may show
up also symptoms that are primarily mental, such as the inability to concentrate
or to remember. Such symptom too, vary in degree. Many people occasionally
experience symptoms like moodiness or depression. When such symptoms are severe
or long- lasting, they interfere with the functioning of individual in daily
life and with his relationship with others. Sometimes a person
subconsciously develops an illness as a way of handling a desperate need, such
as the need for affection. The only real cure is to satisfy the primary desire.
An example is a woman who has pain in her heart, not because of organic heart
disease, but because the symptom is a way of gaining, if only temporarily, the
love and attention for which she longs. Her husband cannot leave her when she is
so sick; her children are concerned. Her pain is just as severe as if it had a
physical cause. The reality of psychosomatic illness
Is the patient with psychosomatic illness really sick, or does he merely
imagine he is sick Many people, including the families of patients and members
of the health professions, believe that physical illness which is influenced by
emotional stress is less real, or wholly imaginary. Acknowledging the reality of
the patients’ illness is important; it is the first step in helping
him. Patients with psychosomatic illness are likely to be
neglected. The same staff who give excellent care to other patients, not
uncommonly ignore them. Some possible reasons may include the use of the term
psycho as a prefix. Perhaps this conveys the idea that such patients are
mentally iii, and therefore have no physical illness. Perhaps they are
considered weaklings. One hears comments like, "He could snap out(克服) of it if
he wanted to." Prejudice against these patients may be due to a belief that they
are pretending illness in an attempt to get attention or favors.
A patient with psychosomatic illness may be confused with a malingerer,
one who deliberately pretends illness in order to achieve secondary gain, such
as financial compensation or excuse from work. Pretending illness is considered
an unhealthy and unsatisfactory solution to the problems of life. Often it adds
to the patient’s difficulties, as he makes elaborate attempts to avoid
detection. A malingerer can be helped sometimes to find ways of coping with
difficulties. The essential difference between psychosomatic illness and
malingering is that the malingerer pretends symptoms. It is a conscious process
and he is aware that he is pretending to be sick. The patient with psychosomatic
illness develops symptoms as manifestation of largely unconscious psychic
conflicts. The symptoms are real. Condemnation(责难) of the
patient with psychosomatic illness can persist despite intellectual
understanding of theories about its cause. The patient can sense immediately
whether those who care for him are trying to help him or not. It is important to
understand that: ·The patient with psychosomatic illness is
really sick. He is not pretending or imagining his symptoms.
·The idea that he can "snap out of it" at will is no more true than it is
of those with diseases like pneumonia, whose need for care is readily
acknowledged. Moodiness and depression are symptoms that don’t last long.