The body becomes ill due to psychological causes? Yes, and this is a sign not to be dismissed
Blog written by the psychologists at Psinove. We explore topics related to psychology and psychotherapy, daily challenges, and reflections.
Do you usually experience physical signs when you are anxious or emotionally upset? You should know that our body and our emotions are in direct contact and that they end up expressing themselves physically.
The physiological activation caused by emotions is known to all of us. Who has never felt their heart beating out of rhythm when they are afraid, or felt the heat rising when they are angry? Emotions live in our body and interact with it, causing physical signs.
However, the repression of our emotions can also, sometimes, provoke symptoms due to an activation that cannot occur, that had no way to be released. A very common example of this situation is the sensation of a lump in the throat when we control ourselves from crying. Or the characteristic headache, for example, when we do not allow ourselves to get angry. This should make us think about the message we convey, for example, to our children about emotional management: "Beyond crying" or "It's ugly to be angry" are teachings that do not promote healthy emotional management, favoring the appearance of signs or symptoms that can no longer be repressed or suppressed by the child (such as a stomach ache, for example).
From a more complex perspective, surely we have all heard that this or that physical symptom "is psychological," that it is caused by an emotional state. Indeed, these situations are quite common, but they are generally misunderstood. Most of the time, saying that a symptom "is psychological" implies a devaluation of the physical suffering it causes, as if it were forged by the person themselves - this is a myth that needs to be debunked. Physical symptoms of psychological origin cause as much suffering, pain, and discomfort as those that have a strictly physical origin and should not be dismissed as lesser elements. Often, people who are suffering from these symptoms end up having an extra obstacle, which is seeing their suffering being relativized, ignored, or not addressed.
Several studies demonstrate that the connection between our emotional health and physical health is very close. The following results concern a study conducted in the United States, but they allow us to understand the importance of this connection. It was understood that people exposed to adverse life events, that is, people who were exposed to situations of high traumatic stress, especially in childhood and adolescence, have an increased risk of up to 15% of suffering from one of the most frequent causes of death, such as chronic obstructive bronchitis, heart or liver diseases. It was also demonstrated that they were twice as likely to have cancer and four times as likely to have emphysema.
The way we deal with, manage, and adapt to adverse events determines our emotional health, but also our physical health. The body is not left out when we experience emotional dysregulation: it is part of the whole process and must be taken into account as something to be taken care of, but also as an ally in the process of treatment and recovery of well-being.
Article published on Sapo 24
