Psychosomatics: stomach. Possible reasons. Gastrointestinal diseases

Metaphysical causes of stomach diseases

Stomach diseases can be associated with both physiological and psychosomatic factors, and the latter are observed no less often, if not more often than the former. Psychosomatics associates any diseases of the digestive tract with the influence of negative emotions. Therefore, when symptoms of gastric pathologies appear, you need to understand the information received by the brain, limit, or better yet, eliminate the perceived negativity.

Most often, stomach diseases are observed in silent people and introverts who prefer to “digest” emotions rather than splash them out. The more often a person “chews” and “swallows” negative information, the stronger and more regularly the symptoms of gastric pathologies appear.

Psychosomatic specialists most often observe stomach diseases in people with certain character traits:

• nervousness;
• anxiety;
• isolation;
• pickiness;
• self-criticism;
• low self-esteem;
• self-doubt;
• non-contact;
• suspiciousness;
• secrecy;
• subject to the influence of others.

Specific symptoms are determined by the psycho-emotional state of a person. Thus, anger, fear, and depression inhibit the functioning of the stomach, resulting in problems with digesting food. And stress causes the stomach to shrink, cramps occur, and the likelihood of developing gastritis and ulcers increases.

Finally, about pain and discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract

With this article I would like to support and reassure everyone to whom this topic resonates now. Know that everything has a beginning and everything has an ending, and it won't always be that way. But the fact that by undergoing and, most importantly, accepting pain in the gastrointestinal tract in particular and changes in ourselves in general, we go into a life that is many times more interesting and varied than before is a fact.

Stomach problems psychosomatics - the topic was revealed to the maximum. Glad you read my article.

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Psychological characteristics of the patient

A patient with a stomach disease is extremely self-critical, places high demands on himself, and strives to achieve maximum results in his chosen task. But at the same time, he is vulnerable and needs love and understanding. Exacerbations of the disease caused by psychosomatic factors occur when a person is deprived of care and protection and does not feel protected.

A person suffering from a peptic ulcer is anxious, irritable, and suspicious. His diligence and responsibility are related to the fact that he is afraid of seeming not correct and good enough for his relatives, colleagues, and superiors. He has extremely low self-esteem, but he desperately tries to prove to others that he is needed and irreplaceable.

Signs of psychosomatic gastritis

Specific signs indicating that the cause of gastritis is psychosomatics:

1. “Sucks in the pit of your stomach” before an important event. There is a feeling of pain during experiences that go away on their own after the event.
2. Gastropathology, which arose for psychological reasons, proceeds secretly for a long time. Manifestations of the disease are caused by emotional factors: resentment, conflict, aggression. After the incident, bloating, heartburn, and pain are observed.

Smart, educated people are characterized by low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. Gastritis often develops in people who hold high positions and have high intelligence. The psychosomatics of gastritis occurs in distrustful people who are prone to worry.

The disease affects people who are depressed, anxious, irritable, conservative, afraid of changes in life, and lack self-confidence. Self-pity, constant apathy and depression often lead to this gastropathology. All patients who have gastritis on a psychological level need care and increased care from loved ones.

Gastritis is often caused by perfectionism and a constant desire to prove one’s own importance.

In a child, the development of gastritis is caused by psychological reasons and incorrect behavior of adults:

• little attention is paid to the child;
• the child feels alienated and lack of love;
• The child is not praised for his achievements.

Psychosomatics of peptic ulcer

Psychosomatic specialists know that severe stress causes the release of significant amounts of cortisol into the blood. This hormone stimulates the sympathetic nerves. At the same time, parasympathetic nerves that control enzymatic and digestive processes are inhibited. As a result, in a person experiencing stress, digestion is disrupted, the mucous membranes of the stomach become irritated and inflamed.

When the stress is constant and strong, the stomach is constantly in a state of inflammation. The result is the appearance of ulcers. The body, reacting to the ulcerative process, releases cortisol into the blood, which prevents the parasympathetic system from working fully. The circle closes, peptic ulcer disease takes a chronic form.

An ulcer provoked by psychosomatic factors is usually detected in the upper parts of the digestive tract and is accompanied by burning pain. The degree of damage varies: from irritation of the mucous membranes to gastric bleeding.

Peptic ulcer disease associated with psychosomatics is common in people who are forced to overexert themselves intellectually and emotionally. Pathology does not develop quickly, but gradually, as stress comes under pressure. At risk are office workers and managers whose activities require high diligence and responsibility.

How effective will the help of a psychotherapist be?

I know people who try to get the most out of one or two psychotherapy sessions. For some reason, it is these people who do not understand the following at all - the psychosomatic pains with which they came, took years to form. And to get rid of them, a couple of sessions are simply not enough.

Before getting to the very essence, the psychotherapist needs to help the client overcome all the defense mechanisms of his psyche, realize all the denials and barriers to the unconscious. This is why the first few sessions can even be painful - the psyche resists future changes so strongly.

Healing change occurs in an instant - by bringing to the surface of consciousness what has been helping the disease develop for a long time.

We also need to remember about multifactoriality. One problem can lead to another problem, which in turn leads to another.

This is not something to be afraid of. In this way, new aspects and causes of the client’s painful condition are revealed more and more deeply.

Restoring mental balance and acquiring psychological comfort creates conditions for the gastrointestinal tract under which the experience of stress ceases to interfere with the normal functioning of the organs. The regeneration of mucosal cells improves, intestinal and gallbladder peristalsis begins to work without spasms, and the previously disturbed blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract is restored.

A separate topic in the work of a psychotherapist is the fight against food addiction. Those who are accustomed to constantly “eating” stress, as a rule, have physical health problems. The back and cardiovascular system suffer from excess weight, the enamel is damaged from the abundance of sweets and toothache may occur, and, of course, the entire gastrointestinal tract is constantly overloaded.

“Stress eating” most often results in excess weight. And this is already a serious load on the joints, muscles and cardiovascular system.

If you understand that food addiction is about you, but are not yet ready to see a psychotherapist, I hasten to recommend you a good book. It's called simply - "Recovering Food Addiction" by Carolyn Cocker Ross. The book examines the causes of food addiction, step by step, brick by brick. And also ways to get rid of it.

And now I’ll tell you in a little more detail what specific personal characteristics of a person are associated with this or that diagnosis.

Gastritis

One of the most popular diseases of modern man. It manifests itself as periodic pain in the stomach area. Moreover, often these pains depend not so much on what was eaten, but on recently experienced emotions.

Sometimes with gastritis the chest hurts so much that a person begins to suspect that he has heart pain. This illusion intensifies when pain appears exclusively after being “overnervous.”

By the way, gastritis is considered a typical disease of middle and high school children. For example, according to a study conducted in the Belgorod region in 2015-2017, among children aged 11-15 years, gastritis was much more common than other diseases.

Taking these data into account, for some reason everyone first of all starts talking about improving the quality of school meals and rarely mentions the importance of reducing the level of school anxiety in children.

And the workload of modern children also creates many prerequisites for the development of gastritis.

And again, this is not about snacking on the go. The point is that the student is constantly under stress and does not have enough time to rest.

And gastritis is precisely a consequence of experiencing constant stress. Moreover, with gastritis this stress is almost invisible. A person simply gets used to the constant race “for success” and does not even notice that he is tense.

Psychotherapy for gastritis is to make the client aware of the tension accumulated in his body.

And, having realized it, I found, with the help of a psychotherapist, ways to get rid of it. In addition, in the process of psychotherapy, it happens that a person gradually begins to understand what is really important to him and what can be painlessly abandoned. The client reconsiders his life and finds time in it not only for achievements, but also for contemplation.

Heartburn

Most often, angry people suffer from heartburn. It manifests itself in a sharp release of gastric juice from the stomach into the esophagus. Sometimes the release is so active that even the throat suffers from the acid.

If you suffer from heartburn, then with a psychotherapist you will work on accepting your life situation, and also look for the true reason for your dissatisfaction with the world.

Stomach and duodenal ulcers

This diagnosis means the appearance of a wound on the mucous membrane, which is not protected from acid and digestive enzymes. Previously, ulcers were even included in the list of diseases for which schoolchildren could be exempted from taking final exams.

Since severe stress could affect a significant deterioration in health.

For a stomach ulcer, you need everything the same as for gastritis. But it is also very important to identify the client’s true problem, which led him to a painful state.

As a rule, it does not lie on the surface and is not revealed during the first conversation.

However, when the client’s problem comes to the surface, is realized, accepted, then dramatic life changes begin, including those related to health.

Irritable bowel syndrome

It is a rather unpleasant disease with no effective drug treatment. It is accompanied by flatulence and spasmodic pain.

Of all the diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is more of a psychosomatic nature than others.

If the appearance of gastritis and ulcers is still influenced by the nature of a person’s diet, then with irritable bowel syndrome, the manifestations of the disease are almost independent of nutrition.

In people suffering from this disease, blood circulation and intestinal motility are impaired due to stress.

This often happens to shy, insecure people, as well as those who experience stressful situations too emotionally. The psychotherapist’s task is to work to increase the client’s resistance to stress. Well, and, of course, getting rid of excessive constant stress.

Psychosomatics of chronic pancreatitis

The disease is dangerous; if chronic, it can lead to injury and scarring of the organ. Stones accumulate in the pancreas and cysts form, due to which digestive juices cannot enter the stomach through the ducts. Digestion of food worsens, blood sugar levels jump. The result is exhaustion of the body and the development of diabetes.

Chronic pancreatitis occurs in those who like to cope with stress and problems with the help of alcohol. Drinking makes you feel better, the body relaxes, nervousness gives way to euphoria, but not for long, so the person reaches for the bottle more and more often. This method of suppressing stress leads to persistent alcohol addiction. Even in the slightest stressful situation, a person reaches for the bottle, and the very fact of abstaining from alcohol becomes stress. The result is inflammation of the pancreas.

The root cause in terms of emotions

Psychologists, scientists of related disciplines, gastroenterologists - many doctors are of the opinion that physiology is closely related to human thoughts. If positive thoughts are concentrated in the head, then the body feels good. If negativity predominates, then diseases develop.

Fact! Fear, envy, resentment or furious anger lead to instability of the immune system and form the basis of the psychosomatic causes of gastritis.

Representatives of alternative medicine are confident that pathologies develop due to psychological problems in one area or another:

• throat diseases - inability to express one’s opinion, fear of sharing thoughts with others;
• leg diseases - reluctance to go where a person is forced to go every day;
• stomach pathologies – negative emotions, experiences and sensations.

Representatives of official medicine confirm that psychosomatics deserves attention when diagnosing the causes of gastritis.

Louise Hay's opinion

The famous psychologist believed that the psychosomatics of stomach diseases are negative thoughts, a person’s dislike for himself. To combat psychosomatic illnesses, Louise Hay created a table of affirmations - positive phrases that need to be said regularly until recovery.

The table shows affirmations that help with stomach diseases.

Louise Hay recommended that people with stomach diseases not be afraid of life changes and mistakes, and learn to make independent decisions.

How to deal with this problem?

The psychomatics of stomach diseases requires the help of a specialist. First, find the causes of stomach illness in yourself - on your own or with the help of a psychotherapist. Once the cause is discovered, it will be much easier to cure its effect. Think about the situations that led to the disease. This may be one situation, but it may be several. Remember - accept it and put it down. Let the emotions that overwhelm you against your will disappear.

Look for positive emotions. Sports, hobbies, reading, love. Surround yourself with happiness, look for it in every day. It is there, but we don’t see it, immersed in our problems, as if in a vacuum. Every person will one day realize what psychosomatics is. Everyone probably had a stomach ache after terrible stress or their throat tightened from unspoken words.

Psychiatrists often prescribe antidepressants or tranquilizers to their patients, while specialists in the field of alternative medicine prefer gentler methods - visceral massage, which relieves spasms from the abdominal organs, therapeutic manual massage, which helps relieve stress, as well as other methods. Louise Hay, for example, advises using auto-training that adjusts the emotional background to a more favorable wave.

Treatment

Stomach diseases, like other diseases caused by psychosomatic factors, should be treated comprehensively. The patient should contact a gastroenterologist and psychotherapist. The first doctor will prescribe medications and procedures to alleviate the condition and relieve symptoms. And the second specialist will help you get rid of stress, emotional problems, complexes and other psychosomatic factors that provoke stomach disease.

You cannot refuse to use medications, even if the patient is absolutely sure that the disease is of a psychosomatic nature. During treatment, it is important to eat right, lead a healthy lifestyle, and avoid stress.

You can understand that the disease is associated with psychosomatics, and not with physiological reasons, by the following signs:

• long-term therapy with a gastroenterologist was unsuccessful;
• symptoms increase with stress and anxiety;
• indigestion is accompanied by pain, cramps, and impaired bowel movements;
• I can’t quit smoking, although I really want to;
• the blues prevail for more than a month;
• gastric pathology is accompanied not only by typical symptoms, but also by sleep disturbances, fatigue, and overexertion.

They turn to a psychotherapist after examination by a gastroenterologist. The specialist will identify stress factors that provoked the disease, work on behavioral and interpersonal problems, and internal conflicts. Treatment of psychosomatic stomach diseases is long-term and can take from several months to a year.

The patient can help himself to a speedy healing. Psychological self-regulation exercises (a psychologist will tell you how to do them), yoga, physical training, massage, and oriental martial arts help normalize the condition.

Why does stress lead to disruption of the gastrointestinal tract?

It's all about our distant past. More precisely, in the mechanism that nature itself has laid in us. Remember what stressful situations ancient people had? Attacks by predatory animals, threats of being bitten by poisonous insects, overcoming physical obstacles to obtain food, etc.

These stresses were related to the need for survival.

At the moment the stress factor appeared, the ancient man had to run away, swim away, crawl away, climb a tree, pretend to be dead, etc.

This means that in times of stress, the main thing for the body was to provide muscle strength. In order for the muscles to work to the limit of their capabilities, the body blocked other functions that were not so important for it, such as reproduction and digestion.

In this case, blood rich in oxygen and nutrients entered the muscles in large quantities.

And the stomach and intestines were given the command to free themselves as much as possible from the contents, so that this would not interfere with fighting danger or running away from it.

It is thanks to this ancient mechanism that during times of stress many people may want to go to the toilet or experience unpleasant nausea in their throats.

I remember the story of one young man who suffered from “bear disease” during the examination period. Before each exam, he tried not to eat anything, but his stomach still responded to stress with painful spasms.

He tried to be one of the first to enter the audience, knowing that his patience “wouldn’t last long.”

The situation began to take on an almost tragic tone when this disease manifested itself on a date with a girl. Personal life was under threat.

Well, tell me, what kind of girl would like a gentleman who is away every now and then “on business”. It was then, after a failed date, that the young man decided to seek help from a psychotherapist.

As he explained at the first session: “The head understands everything, but it is not yet possible to order your body not to be capricious.”

As with any disease of a psychosomatic nature, the attending physician and psychotherapist work in tandem. The doctor prescribes examination procedures, clarifies the diagnosis, and prescribes medication.

In the case of the young man, the doctor diagnosed him with irritable bowel syndrome and prescribed medications to alleviate the condition. But the main thing in this matter is still psychotherapy.