Psychosomatic Disorder

You may have heard the term “psychosomatic disorder” and not really understood what it is. This article will explain in plain language. Psychosomatic refers to the mind–body connection. Science has been catching up with the notion of there being a back and forth loop between the mind and brain, and our emotions. Indeed, there is plenty of research to support the idea that physical symptoms can often be underpinned by psychological roots. Many people who experience this may experience stigma and misunderstanding, but it’s important to understand, when answering what is psychosomatic disorder, we recognise that physical symptoms are real, not imagined. This article will flesh out psychosomatic disorder definition and offer an overview of causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

What Is a Psychosomatic Disorder?

A psychosomatic disorder occurs when psychological stress, emotional strain, or unresolved experiences affect the body so much that they lead to real physical symptoms. These symptoms are not imagined or exaggerated, they are genuine responses that occur in the body, driven by the nervous system. When the brain perceives ongoing stress and threat, physiological responses are activated. For example, ever experienced muscle tension, inflammation, pain, and changes in digestion or heart rate that seemed quite random or inexplicable? In this scenario, an emotional issue may be the root cause. If you are constantly activated in this way, you may experience more chronic problems like chronic pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, headaches, or neurological-type symptoms, even when medical tests do not show a clear physical cause. So in plain terms when asking what is psychosomatic disorder, the answer is simply this: the definition of psychosomatic disorder is related to the intersection of mind and body. Your body is not “making things up,” it may be reacting to consistent emotional or psychological strain. Understanding this helps move treatment away from endless medical tests and toward approaches that calm the nervous system, process emotional stress, and restore balance.

What’s the Difference Between Psychosomatic Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder?

When trying to understand Psychosomatic Disorder definition, we must be careful not to confuse this with Somatic Symptom Disorder. Psychosomatic Disorder describes physical symptoms that are generated by stress or other emotions, whereas Somatic Symptom Disorder focuses on distress about symptoms. There is some clinical overlap which may contribute to the terms often becoming confused and used interchangeably. Nevertheless, due to the differences, the therapeutic focus is not the same for each. Why might this be? Well, think about it, when answering the question of what is psychosomatic disorder, we notice how it relates to emotional and psychological origins. So, the focus changes to those origins, which can, in turn, improve the physical outcome. If however, the issue is distress about symptoms, we have to take a different approach in terms of treatment.

Which Diseases Are Psychosomatic?

So keeping in mind that Psychosomatic Disorder is not an “imaginary” illness we also must try not to deem all illnesses that are affected by psychological and emotional states as psychosomatic. What does this mean? Some physical symptoms are caused by how we feel, these would come under the psychosomatic umbrella. However, some illnesses are exacerbated by how we feel emotionally, but may not be caused by the same. We have to consider that if we are stressed due to our physical health, this may heighten stress and other feelings, which may in turn worsen symptoms, but these feelings may not be the cause and therefore it is not Psychosomatic Disorder.

Examples of Psychosomatic Disorder:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Tension headaches and migraines
• Chronic pain syndromes
• Functional neurological symptoms
• Non-epileptic seizures
• Skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis)
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic fatigue symptoms
• Stress-related cardiovascular symptoms

Psychosomatic Disorder Symptoms

Psychosomatic Disorder symptoms are physical and distressing. They will often fluctuate with stress levels and medical tests will often  be unable to trace physical symptoms back to a biological cause(s), so tests appear normal which can be confusing.

Symptoms of Psychosomatic Disorder:

• Chronic pain with no clear medical cause
• Gastrointestinal distress
• Fatigue and weakness
• Headaches or dizziness
• Chest tightness or palpitations
• Neurological-like symptoms (numbness, tremor)
• Skin flare-ups
• Sleep disturbance

Causes of Psychosomatic Disorder

Psychosomatic Disorder causes can be multifaceted in origin, with stress often being a key driver. This causes the nervous system to become dysregulated, which in turn impacts the release of stress hormones and inhibits mood-lifting and mood-regulating hormones. So there is a real biological impact, which demonstrates the mind-body connection. This offers validity to the importance of psychotherapy and its role in our overall wellbeing.

Causes of PsychosomaticDisorder:

• Chronic stress or burnout
• Trauma or unresolved emotional distress
• Anxiety and depression
• Emotional suppression
• Early life adversity
• Perfectionism and high self-pressure
• Long-term physiological arousal

Risk Factors for Psychosomatic Illness

Psychosomatic Disorder can develop due to many reasons and often they can be seemingly benign, just ways of being that have become enduring and impactful over time. For example, you may tolerate a high stress lifestyle and maybe you functioned well for a while, but have started noticing physiological symptoms that you cannot explain. You may have a history of trauma which is no longer as “easy” to compartmentalise and split off from due to other reasons. Some people also experience difficulty identifying emotions (alexithymia). Another condition that can place you at risk of symptoms of Psychosomatic Disorder is chronic Health Anxiety, something I’ve observed in many of my clients who experience it. There is also the issue of having very little emotional support. Finally, personality traits can make some people vulnerable to this disorder, for example, if someone is overly-responsible in their relationships, or people-pleasing.

How Is a Psychosomatic Disorder Diagnosed?

Psychosomatic Disorder is often diagnosed when there is no other known medical cause that symptoms can be attributed to. This means, once everything else has been excluded, we might consider the mind-body connection as being at work. Medical assessment is therefore important as this can rule out any underlying physical health causes that might be at work. A psychological formulation is also important, so ideally this would require a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach between professionals who may be involved in your care. It is important that we do not stigmatise or invalidate psychosomatic symptoms or illnesses because when considering the question of what is psychosomatic disorder, it can be easy to dismiss it due to long held attitudes toward emotional and psychological processes. But, as mentioned, these do indeed impact the nervous system and hormone production.

Psychosomatic Disorder Treatment

Psychotherapy

Psychosomatic Disorder treatment focuses on emotional triggers which underpin bodily responses. This targets the root cause and, in turn, enhances nervous system regulation, helping you feel better in a holistic way. For example, if you’re having trouble sleeping because you’re awoken by feelings of anxiety, or grief and sadness – we work with the issues that affect you in these ways. Gradually, sleep returns and there is overall improvement. We might do this using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a psychodynamic focus, or other trauma-informed approaches – or integrate a few approaches so we are flexible to your specific needs and goals.

Hypnotherapy

Another treatment of Psychosomatic disorder that some people seem to respond well to is hypnotherapy. This aims to work with subconscious stress responses that affect physically. Hypnotherapy is a controversial approach however, with some people finding that it does not work for them. Yet, others have found it useful for pain and functional symptoms and would argue that it supports mind-body reconnection. So, although there is very little scientific basis for hypnotherapy, it does not mean it cannot work for you.

Healthy Lifestyle

Another form of management of Psychosomatic Disorder is how we live our lives. There are certain “anchors,” I like to call them, that we must try to maintain to ground ourselves. So, this is where sleep regulation is important. Sleep is such a foundational part of our functioning and supports us in so many important ways. It can be one of the things that helps with stress reduction which is another important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. This may come from gentle movement and exercise. It is also important to ensure good nutrition for nervous system support, even if you’ve lost your appetite.

Medication

Medical Psychosomatic Disorder treatment may seem like a strange option, considering the cause of the condition is non-medical. But, this is sometimes useful for symptom management where appropriate. The key thing is that it isn’t treated like a standalone solution. If combined with psychotherapy, it can be very helpful because it may be just what is needed to help you feel ready and able to engage in the therapeutic process. The key is to notice whether it’s a help or a hindrance. This means considering whether it allows you to engage, or whether instead, it blunts your emotions so much that there’s not much to engage with.

Meditation

Psychosomatic Stress Disorder can be helped by meditation too, at least for some people who respond to this form of self-help. Meditation aims to reduce the physiological stress response by helping you return to a calmer state, one in which you learn to relax and let go of things that serve you badly. Meditation can also benefit in other ways, for example, it can improve emotional awareness which can be useful because it offers more clarity. Meditation is also known to support long-term regulation of emotions, as you become more aware of your internal world.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, by this point of the article, you will know that Psychosomatic Disorder symptoms are real and treatable. It’s first important to understand your Psychosomatic Disorder causes so that you can take a mind-body approach. It has been seen that early intervention improves treatment outcomes so a compassionate and understanding approach is more likely to help over a dismissive one that will only delay helpful Psychosomatic Disorder treatment. Recovery is possible, but first the mindset has to shift to being more open to the reality of this complex, but legitimate condition. If you’re unsure why you experience certain physical symptoms, and there is no medical answer, therapy may help you to figure things out so get in touch today.