6 months ago
Previously, psychosomatics was considered as a direction in psychology. Through it, experts explained the origin of diseases. Psychosomatics is a direction that shows the influence of the psyche on the body. The disease manifests itself physically, which means that it is based on a mental illness formed for a specific reason. This could be fear, lack of love or self-realization, unresolved problems and others.
At the moment, medicine is not so categorical about psychosomatics, since in reality it is impossible to explain the origin of some ailments from the medical side. An example of this is the famous “Chicago Seven” - a list of diseases that are considered originally psychosomatic. This also includes coronary heart disease and hypertension.
From a psychosomatic point of view, the heart is a symbol of love. If a person does not have heart disease, then he can love and accept love, live in joy. But if a person for some reason does not accept love, then this has a significant impact on the organ. Psychosomatics of the heart explains that it begins to work incorrectly, literally shrinks. This leads to a person becoming more rigid, cruel and heartless. And he begins to feel the first pains in his heart.
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common psychosomatic diseases. It has long been proven that individuals who experience negative emotions, simply put, pessimists, suffer more often from such ailments. Optimistic people can be calm because they are not in the risk zone.
This can also be explained from a physiological perspective. The more negativity a person experiences, the higher his nervous overexcitation. Nerve endings that are located throughout the body carry tension to all parts of the body. The sympathetic nerve plexus, which is located in the heart, is especially affected by nervous overstrain. It is also transmitted to the organ, the functioning of which changes, which manifests itself through various diseases.
Psychosomatics of heart pain
If your heart hurts, you should think not about going to the hospital, but about what triggered it. A possible reason why the heart hurts may be the lack of love or its lack.
Those who suffered from a lack of attention and expression of warm feelings considered themselves unloved. The same thing can happen in adulthood, and a person may feel loved less or not loved at all. For the same reason, there is another, opposite concept - giving up love in exchange for career growth. Both suffer equally, which leads to diseases of the cardiovascular system.
People suffering from psychosomatic heart diseases are of the following types:
- Selfish hysterics;
- Neurosthenics with unstable psyche;
- Hypochondriac psychasthenics.
Those who keep their emotions under control, those who take on other people's pain and try to help everyone can have heart pain. Suppressed emotions lead to atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Cardiovascular diseases and psychosomatics
The most common ailments considered psychosomatic are:
- Cardiac arrhythmia;
- Essential arterial hypertension;
- Cardiac neurosis;
- Tachycardia and angina;
In psychosomatics, the heart is an organ associated with love. It’s not for nothing that the loss of loved ones or the end of a relationship leads to heartache. The reason for this is changes in the organ at the physiological level. These changes also occur during times of fear, anger and sadness.
During the release of adrenaline with a toxin, blood vessels narrow, the heart rate increases, which leads to a feeling of fear and anxiety. Frequent narrowing of blood vessels leads to pressure surges. It turns out that increased anxiety irreversibly leads to illnesses of an important human organ.
Hostility is suppressed, and suppressing any of your emotions has a negative impact on the state of the heart. Those people who take on all the difficulties and solve all the problems are slowly but surely moving towards arterial hypertension.
Frequent increased anxiety, which can occur for many reasons. A tense family situation, constant quarrels and showdowns lead to the formation of a high level of anxiety. Then there is high or low blood pressure, nausea and dizziness. These symptoms are very similar to ischemic heart disease. The psychosomatics of myocardial infarction has the same causes and consequences, but these are manifestations of cardiac neurosis. Its difference is that it can occur in tandem with panic attacks.
Psychosomatic causes of arrhythmia
Failures in the functioning of the heart are the main sign that a person has lost his way in life. There is only one way out - listen to yourself. Arrhythmia is a malfunction of the blood pumping organ, which for some reason has lost its rhythm. Perhaps this is due to a busy life, or imposed rules that are not to your liking. The psychosomatics of cardiac arrhythmia is also associated with the constant bustle and speed of life.
Fear and anxiety are constant companions of a person. They master it so much that the organ cannot stand it and loses its normal rhythm. Such a person may experience constant jumps in the number of strokes. They can be either higher than normal or lower.
If you do not change the rhythm of life, the heart may not cope with the high load. And this doesn't only apply to adults. In children, arrhythmia is also observed. This happens because the parents of their child are overloaded with various clubs and tutors and the expectations placed on them.
Tachycardia and psychosomatics
Tachycardia is often found not only in older people, but also in young people who are unable to control their emotions. Constant negative thoughts in the head, aggressiveness and fears lead to this disease.
Those suffering from angina pectoris are often tense and are not ready to share their emotions, feelings and problems with others. Internal worries and anxiety lead to an increase in heart rate, which interferes with normal life activities.
Angina pectoris and psychosomatics
Angina is characterized by a lack of blood in one area of the heart. It turns out that the body does not receive a certain amount of it, which then leads to ischemia. And if you do nothing further, then necrosis is guaranteed.
Dislike for yourself and others, lack of values and dislike for your own life leads to such a terrible diagnosis. Such people are not sincerely interested in others and do not experience joy or pity. They are protected from the world by a thick wall.
Psychosomatic pain in the heart, which is diagnosed as angina pectoris, can also occur in hypersensitive people. They are used to taking all the pain upon themselves.
How to treat correctly
Treatment involves a psychotherapeutic and medication approach. Since the root of the problem is related to a psychological problem, it is worth starting treatment with a psychotherapist. It will help the patient work through a long-standing problem, thereby relieving him of suffering.
But since there are already consequences in the form of diseases, it is impossible to do without consulting a cardiologist. Prescribed medications will help eliminate unpleasant symptoms. You should not rely on only one option, since to cure psychosomatic arrhythmia which is associated with an incorrect rhythm of life, a person will need to learn to love himself and others, to accept love, depending on the disease.
Prevention
Just because a person doesn't have signs of heart disease doesn't mean their current lifestyle won't lead to them getting one. Before it’s too late, it’s worth analyzing your own life and solving problems with rejection of love, excessive aggression, the desire to take all troubles upon yourself and other signs. Once the problem has been worked out, it will help get rid of future diseases.
Cardiac ischemia(IHD) is a generalized name for a whole category of diseases associated with insufficient oxygen supply to the heart. Most often, this discrepancy between the need and the actual volume of oxygen supplied occurs due to impaired blood flow to the heart muscle due to atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries. This is observed in 90% of all cases of manifestation of the disease.
In the remaining 10% of cases, other pathological conditions are found: endocrine disorders, inflammatory and allergic vascular diseases, rheumatic valve defects, etc.
With ischemic heart disease, self-regulation of providing the myocardium with the necessary amount of blood flow is disrupted, which leads to manifestations of angina pectoris, also known as “angina pectoris”.
Ischemia is far from the only disease of the cardiovascular system, but one of the most dangerous, with a high mortality rate.
Previously, there was a larger number of older people, over the age of 55 - 60 years, suffering from this disease, but now it has become much younger. Young men aged 35–40 years are increasingly susceptible to ischemia. Increasingly, they end up in intensive care with a heart attack. This is greatly facilitated by the deteriorating environment from year to year, especially in big cities, a sedentary lifestyle, alcohol and nicotine abuse, as well as stress, psychological trauma, prolonged psycho-emotional stress, and nervous exhaustion.
Manifestations of IHD are not only ischemia. The following may also develop: heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, arterial hypertension, cerebrovascular insufficiency.
The main forms of IHD are: angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, post-infarction cardiosclerosis. Complications manifest themselves in the form of heart failure and various arrhythmias.
The main symptoms of coronary artery disease:
Squeezing or squeezing pain in the chest area that occurs during increased physical activity or in a stressful situation - angina attacks
Angina attacks become more frequent and occur at the slightest load on the heart
Constricting or pressing pain behind the sternum or to the left of it
Nocturnal angina attacks
Arrhythmias
If the attack lasts more than 20 minutes, myocardial infarction may develop.
It should be noted that with coronary heart disease the following are observed: fatigue, weakness, sweating, swelling of the extremities (especially the lower ones), shortness of breath.
Why is IHD classified as a psychosomatic disease?
Our heart is an amazing organ. It reacts to everything that happens to us. It is not for nothing that all feelings are placed in it so that we do not experience: joy, excitement, grief, anxiety - all this is reflected in the work of the heart. It freezes with delight or begins to beat furiously when excited, loses its rhythm when there is severe fear or stress, or “works like a clock” in a calm state. The heart is an indicator of our psycho-emotional state. The stress that it experiences with increased emotionality is very great and therefore one of the most important skills of a modern person is the ability to manage one’s emotions. It is often confused with “emotional control”, i.e. with a ban on expressing them. But such “control” has nothing to do with management, because you continue to experience emotions and because you do not allow yourself to express them, they become even stronger. Your heart still reacts to them. And not only the heart, but the entire body experiences severe stress, which is very harmful for all its systems.
Managing emotional states is truly a skill and it is extremely difficult to master it on your own, because... you need to understand, feel and learn to recognize emotional manifestations and only then can you learn to manage them, i.e. comprehend, understand the meaning, accept it and transfer it to a calm state. It is important to learn how to respond competently and express what you feel. Unfortunately, this is not taught in school and parents very rarely think about it when raising their children. But teaching these basics to an adult, mature person is somewhat more difficult. But it is quite possible, and for a patient with ischemia it is vitally important!
We can note some characteristic psychological features characteristic of patients with ischemia:
Increased anxiety
Disappointment in life
Susceptibility to depression
Dissatisfaction with one's own life
Experiencing failure
Emotional instability (rapid transition from one emotion to another)
Difficulty expressing emotions
Desire to achieve high social status
Attaching increased importance to material goods
Gambling
Social “mask” of one’s own well-being
Selfishness
Desire for the competitive process and primacy in it
These people are often successful, occupy leadership positions, and have average or high social status. But the excessive effort they put into achieving their goals (even if they don't realize it themselves) creates a situation of constant stress and tension that is difficult for the cardiovascular system to cope with. The result is illness and often the loss of everything on which invaluable health was spent.
Have you ever gotten sick before an important event (report, speech, etc.)? Do you get sick more often than you would like or suffer from chronic diseases?
Do your relatives have chronic illnesses and are you worried that something similar could happen to you?
Then it's time for a heart-to-heart conversation... with your body. The body begins to talk to us in the language of illness when it cannot reach us in any other way. Where do you think it goes that you didn’t answer the minibus lady who stepped on your foot, and didn’t object to your boss? Where do those feelings disappear that you experience when you again agree to help out a friend, despite the fact that you had other plans, or when you force yourself to go to a job you don’t like again and again every morning?
It is our body that suffers from all the feelings, emotions, and unrecognized needs that we have not expressed. Pay attention to your speech, how many physical metaphors there are in it, often indicating the place of the disorder (“I’m sick of...”, “I feel like a squeezed lemon,” “If only my eyes could not see...”, “a stone on my heart,” “lump in the throat”, “reluctantly”, “...to the point of gnashing of teeth” and the like). This is how we often characterize the feelings and emotions that we experience. And our body has no choice but to take it all personally, since we do not know how to recognize in a timely manner and do not find ways to express externally what we experience.
And then the question arises, what does our body want to tell us with this or that disease, what do we get when we fall into illness? Maybe care that is so lacking, or time for yourself, or the opportunity not to overcome yourself again? And most importantly, what do you need to stop or start doing to be healthy? Although you can often encounter such a psychological paradox that being healthy is more difficult than being sick, because a healthy person is not only fulfilled and successful, but also bears great responsibility, which not everyone is ready for.
The state of the body is largely a reflection of a person’s mental processes. The disease can be a consequence of psychological trauma, conflicts, and repressed experiences. Psychosomatics (Greek psyche – soul, soma – body)– a direction in medicine and psychology that studies the influence of psychological factors on the occurrence and development of somatic diseases.
The basis of psychosomatic illness is a reaction to emotional experience, accompanied by pathological disorders in organs. Many diseases (arterial hypertension and other diseases of the cardiovascular system, bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis, gastritis and peptic ulcers, diseases of the endocrine system, eczema and neurodermatitis, gynecological, urological, and oncological diseases) can be caused by psychological reasons.
How does this happen? Nature has established that at the moment of mental stress, processes occur in the human body that help overcome a stressful situation. How do more primitive creatures react to stress? There are three possible reactions: “freeze”, “hit”, “run”. Our body reacts in the same way: rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure (when fleeing or fighting), or vice versa - a decrease in pulse rate and pressure (freezing), the work of the digestive system slows down or, on the contrary, peristalsis increases, hormone production increases or decreases, activation occurs immune system, and other processes aimed at survival in situations of stress. But this state of the body is designed for a short time, only to overcome the danger. When you are in a stressful situation for a long time, there is an increased consumption of energy, hormones, and so on.
If the stressful state is not realized in a behavioral reaction and is not resolved, the formation of diseases occurs. So, for example, a dog, when angry, can bite, and when frightened, it can run away, that is, a behavioral reaction occurs that is adequate to the stimulus. Have you often, in response to a complaint addressed to you by, well, management, expressed in a boorish manner, responded in kind, or used your fists? Or, feeling afraid of your mother, mother-in-law, boss, etc., did you turn around and run away? It’s unlikely, we are social creatures and therefore often do not show fear, restrain irritation, and thereby do not realize the body’s readiness to react to a stress factor.
It’s easier for people who easily express their emotions and satisfy their needs; their risk of falling ill is significantly lower. Illness is the flip side of willpower and self-control. If a person experiences strong feelings and emotions, but restrains their expression, he does not implement stress reactions, which leads to depletion of the body's systems and, as a result, illness.
If visits to doctors do not bring significant relief from suffering, you may need qualified psychological help in addition to medical treatment. As a rule, the more severe the disease, the more persistent the symptom (it does not respond well to traditional treatment), the more frequent the disease relapses, the more important it is to undergo a course of psychotherapy.
How can a psychologist help in this situation? To figure out with you why the manifestations of the disease are needed in your life, what or who they are dedicated to, what need or unexpressed feelings the disease hides. How can you, while remaining a social person, learn to talk about your needs and express your feelings towards the person to whom they are addressed, and not accumulate them in your own body. This will help you hear the “voice” of your body and agree with it on how you will take care of yourself and build harmonious relationships with yourself and the world around you, how you will choose life goals that exceed the disease and deprive it of secondary benefit. As you clarify the hidden psychological causes of your illnesses, with the help of a specialist you will be able to find your and only your resources in order to live without illness or get along with the illness, which will allow you to become the master of your health and will help improve your quality of life.
Make an appointment with Maria Litvinova:
1. HEART (PROBLEMS)- (Louise Hay)
Guilt. Symbolizes the center of love and security.
Causes of the disease
Long-standing emotional problems. Lack of joy. Callousness. Belief in the need for tension and stress.
Joy. Joy. Joy. I am happy to let a stream of joy flow through my mind, body, and life.
2. HEART (PROBLEMS)- (V. Zhikarentsev)
What does this organ represent in a psychological sense?
Represents the center of love and security, protection.
Causes of the disease
Long-term emotional problems. Lack of joy. Hardening of the heart. Belief in tension, overwork and pressure, stress.
A Possible Solution to Promote Healing
I bring the experience of joy back to the center of my heart. I express love for everything.
3. HEART (PROBLEMS)- (Liz Burbo)
Physical blocking
The heart provides blood circulation in the human body, functioning like a powerful pump. Many more people die from heart disease these days than from any other disease, war, disaster, etc. This vital organ is located in the very center of the human body.
Emotional blockage
When we talk about what a person concentrates, this means that he allows his heart to make a decision, that is, he acts in harmony with himself, with joy and love. Any heart problems are a sign of the opposite state, that is, a state in which a person accepts everything too close to the heart. His efforts and experiences go beyond his emotional capabilities, which prompts him to engage in excessive physical activity. The most important message that heart disease carries is “LOVE YOURSELF!” If a person suffers from some kind of heart disease, it means that he has forgotten about his own needs and is trying his best to earn the love of others. He doesn't love himself enough.
Mental block
Heart problems indicate that you must immediately change your attitude towards yourself. You think that love can only come from other people, but it would be much wiser to receive love from yourself. If you depend on someone's love, you have to constantly earn that love.
When you realize your uniqueness and learn to respect yourself, love - your self-love - will always be with you, and you won't have to try again and again to get it. To reconnect with your heart, try to give yourself at least ten compliments a day.
If you make these inner changes, your physical heart will respond to them. A healthy heart can withstand deceptions and disappointments in the love sphere, as it is never left without love. This does not mean that you can do nothing for others; on the contrary, you must continue to do everything you did before, but with a different motivation. You should do this for your own pleasure, and not to earn someone else's love.
4. HEART (PROBLEMS)- (Valery Sinelnikov)
Description of the reason
Pain in the heart arises from unsatisfied love: for oneself, loved ones, the world around us, for the very process of life. People with heart disease have a lack of love for themselves and for people. They are prevented from loving by old grievances and jealousy, pity and regret, fear and anger. They feel lonely or afraid of being alone. They don’t understand that they create loneliness for themselves by fencing themselves off from people, relying on old grievances. They are weighed down by emotional long-standing problems. They fall like a “heavy burden”, a “stone” on the heart. Hence the lack of love and joy. You are simply killing these divine feelings in yourself. You are so busy with your own and other people's problems that there is no place or time left for love and joy.
“Doctor, I can’t help but worry about my children,” the patient tells me. “My daughter’s husband is a drunkard, her son separated from his wife, and I’m worried about my grandchildren, how they are, what’s wrong with them. My heart hurts for them all.
- I understand that you only want the best for your children and grandchildren. But is heartache the best way to help them?
“Of course not,” the woman answers. - But I don’t know any other way.
The heart often hurts in those people who are filled with pity and compassion. They strive to help people by taking on their pain and suffering (“A Compassionate Man,” “The Heart Is Bleeding,” “Taking It Close to the Heart”). They have a very strong desire to help loved ones and people around them. But they are not using the best methods. And at the same time they completely forget about themselves, ignore themselves. Thus, the heart gradually closes to love and joy. His blood vessels narrow.
To be open to the world, to love the world and people, and at the same time remember and take care of yourself, your interests and intentions - this is a great art. Remember? “Love your neighbor as yourself!”
Why do people forget the second part of this commandment?
A person with good intentions, who understands, realizes and accepts his place and purpose in the Universe, has a healthy and strong heart.
A good heart never hurts,
And what is bad becomes heavier.
Evil has destroyed more than one heart.
Have a good heart
Be able to return kindness for kindness.
I have found that people with heart disease believe in the necessity of tension and stress. They have a predominantly negative assessment of the world around them or any events and phenomena in it. They view almost any situation as stressful. This is because they have not learned to take responsibility for their lives. Personally, I divide all situations in my life into two categories: pleasant and useful. Pleasant situations are those that give me pleasant experiences. And useful ones are those in which you can learn something important and positive.
I have a friend who is a bathhouse attendant. He is already seventy years old. Celebrated the golden wedding. Recently he told me about himself.
- Fifteen years ago I was hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. I had a hard time then. I thought that the end had already come. Well, nothing, the doctors supported me and treated me. And when I was discharged, one smart doctor told me: “If you want to have a healthy heart, remember: never scold anyone or quarrel with anyone. And even if someone nearby is scolding someone, run away from there. Choose good people for yourself and be kind yourself.”
So I remembered his words for the rest of my life. If they swear on the trolleybuses, I get out and take a minibus. Retired neighbors joke: “Semenych has become a rich man, he drives around in a taxi.” But I think that you should not save on your health.
But now I can steam three people at once in a bathhouse with a broom. And I feel great.
One of my patients with heart disease often used the following phrases in conversation:
- Doctor, I feel sorry for people all the time.
- I condemn “in the hearts.”
- I take it to heart.
- The world is so unfair.
“Take to heart”, “Compassionate person”, “Stone on the heart”, “Heart bleeds”, “Cold heart”, “Heartless” - if you use such phrases, then you have a predisposition to heart disease or already have one sick. Stop carrying something unpleasant in your heart. Free yourself, smile, straighten up, feel light and free.
5. HEART (PROBLEMS)- (Valery Sinelnikov)
Description of the reason
I remember my physiology classes at medical school. We then conducted experiments on frogs. The frog's heart was cut out and placed in a saline solution. And if certain conditions are maintained, the heart can beat in isolation from the body for as long as desired. This is explained by the fact that the heart has its own pacemaker (sinus node).
But while in the body, the heart also reacts to certain hormones and nerve impulses coming from the central and autonomic nervous system. And when everything is in order in our life, we do not think about our heart.
Interruptions in the functioning of the heart are a direct indication that you have lost your own rhythm of life. Listen to your heart. It will probably tell you that you are imposing an alien rhythm on yourself. Hurry somewhere, hurry, fuss. Anxiety and fear begin to control you and your feelings.
One of my patients developed heart block. With this disease, not every impulse from the sinus node reaches the heart muscle. And the heart contracts at a frequency of 30-55 beats per minute (with a normal rhythm of 60-80 beats). There is a risk of cardiac arrest. In this case, medicine suggests performing an operation and installing an artificial pacemaker.
“You see, doctor,” the patient tells me, “I’m not young anymore, but my little son is growing up.” We must have time to give him an education and provide him with a decent life. For this reason, I left my favorite job and went into business. And I can’t stand this frantic rhythm and competition. In addition, there are constant checks by the tax office. And everyone needs to give something. I'm tired of all this.
“That’s right,” I say, “in business there is a completely different rhythm.” And your heart tells you that you need to stop, stop worrying and start doing in life what interests you, what brings joy and moral satisfaction. What you are doing now is not yours.
- But after the beginning of perestroika, many people changed their profession.
“Of course,” I agree. - For some, doing business helped them discover their talents, while many simply rushed in pursuit of money, forgetting about their purpose, betraying themselves, betraying their hearts.
“But I need to provide for my family,” he disagrees. - And at my previous job I received meager money.
“In this case,” I say, “you have a choice: either you live according to a rhythm imposed and artificial for you, or you change your job and live in your natural rhythm, in harmony with yourself and the world around you.” In addition, I add, favorite work, if done correctly, can bring not only moral, but also material satisfaction.
6. HEARTBEAT IS RAISED- (Liz Burbo)
Sometimes a person begins to clearly feel the beating of his heart, feels that my heart jumps out of my chest. This condition occurs when there is short-term disruption of the heart. See HEART (PROBLEMS), with the addition that these disruptions usually accompany a person’s strong emotional reaction to some important event. He wants to jump with happiness or with fear, but he does not allow himself to do so.
7. TACHYCARDIA- (Liz Burbo)
Tachycardia is an increase in heart rate. See articles and HEART (PROBLEMS). Tachycardia can be caused by an attack of a disease such as, so see also the corresponding article.
8. ENDOCARDITIS- (Liz Burbo)
Endocarditis is an inflammatory or infectious disease of the endocardium, that is, the inner lining of the heart. See the article, as well as an explanation of “features of inflammatory diseases”.
It is important to know that the presented psychosomatosis is not always preceded by cardioneurosis. Often, the patient is so carried away by the collisions of life that everything that happens to him is perceived as a normal working life; and psychological conflicts, meanwhile, take place in the unconscious sphere. For example, young men who lead an absolutely healthy lifestyle get sick with acute myocardial infarction in a similar way.
Psychodynamics hypertensive illnesses. In a “hypergenic” family, the parents actively impose their will on the child through negative verbal communication. Family relationships are characterized by many prohibitions, restraining child activity. A harsh type of upbringing with a lack of tenderness is noted. In relation to each other, parents are cold-blooded, hide their feelings from the child - a substrate arises for inhibited anger in adulthood. Education of the “delegation” or “binding” type predominates. If in such a family one of the parents (usually the mother) is highly anxious and emotionally labile, then excessive sensitivity is passed on to the child; he may perceive the situation as “rejection” - a substrate for adulthood arises.
There are 2 types of psychodynamic behavior that predispose to hypertension.
A combination of the high pace of life in the city with the need to complete the maximum number of tasks per unit of time, suppressed aggression (anger), mistrust to maintain social ties (“ inhibited anger") and low mood. Characteristic of active, business people.
Briefly: “Increased demands, restrained anger, mistrust.”
Combination alarming hyper-responsibility, excessive emotional excitability and sleep disturbances. It is more common in middle and especially older age groups.
Briefly: "Frustration, fear, embarrassment."
Psychodynamics IHD . In a “cardiogenic” family, relationships between parents are often characterized by a conflict of dominance. Despite attempts to rule, the father is not an authority in the family. On the part of an emotionally restrained mother, control prevails in relation to the child; parenting strategy - “delegation”. Excessive control on the part of the mother leaves a “narcissistic imprint” on the child’s character. Therefore, in adult life, grievances will be perceived by him as grossly narcissistic (“close to the heart”).
There are 2 types of psychodynamic behavior that predisposes to IHD.
Key principle ( super valuable) experiences. Often (but not always!) Characteristic of persons with high social activity, endowed with narcissistic qualities, tuned to competition, the maximum volume of achievements combined with wariness and distrust of others ( Type A personality). Competition is based on opposition myself. Possible options for the key experience: accusations of insolvency (or underestimation) of professional achievements, inability to fulfill assumed obligations, threat to business reputation, inevitability of separation (loss) and anything else that is “extremely important” for a particular person. A negative resolution of a key experience is perceived as gross narcissistic resentment with an emotionally depressive overtones.
Briefly: “Increased demands, ambition, narcissism.”
Anxious hostility based on principle conversions (Type D personality). A combination of anxious-depressive character, suppression of negative emotions (“emotional closedness”), low social support and, often, “existential vacuum” (unconscious lack of meaning in life). It is more common among people with low social status and in elderly subjects. In general, such a pattern of behavior predisposes to atherosclerosis of any location.
Briefly: “Disappointment, pessimism, suppression of emotions.”
Both psychodynamic behavior patterns are characterized by mistrust to others. During a highly valuable experience, the personality is, as a rule, extroversive; during conversion, it is introversive.
The role of the “nervous factor” in the origin of coronary atherosclerosis by B. Pasternak in the novel “Doctor Zhivago” is interestingly described in the words of the main character:“In our time, microscopic forms of cardiac hemorrhages have become very common. They are not all fatal... This is a disease of modern times. I think its reasons are of a moral order. The vast majority of us are required to constantly, in a system of built-up crookedness. It is impossible without consequences for health every day every day to express yourself is disgusting to what you feel; to crucify yourself in front of what you don’t like, to rejoice at what brings you misfortune. Our nervous system is not an empty phrase, not an invention... It cannot be endlessly raped with impunity.”
Psychodynamics arrhythmias hearts. There are 2 types of psychodynamic behavior that predispose to cardiac arrhythmias.
Difficulty expressing emotions, both negative and positive, accompanied by a fear of losing emotional control. Type of education: rejection or tying.
Briefly: “Fear of activity and initiative.”
A hectic life in pursuit of money, material well-being combined with narcissistic anger. Often combined with hypertension. Type of education: delegation.
Briefly: "Increased demands combined with angry verbalization."
Differences between somatopsychosis and cardioneurosis: severe hypochondria, which subordinates a significant part of the patient’s life to concentration on painful sensations; complete or partial disability; reduction of self-criticism; pretentious, metaphorical descriptions of unpleasant (painful) sensations spreading beyond one anatomical area (for example, a “burning” in the heart area, radiating “rays” to the abdominal area); positive therapeutic effect from long-term, multicomponent psychotropic therapy. In fact, cardiogenic somatopsychosis is the same cardioneurosis, only with more painful symptoms, elements of decreased criticism and the beginning of social maladjustment.
Risk factors development of somatopsychosis: low level of social support; previous severe somatic illness (for example, stroke or heart attack), aggravating neurosis; rapid loss of high social status (for example, retirement of a high-ranking individual); old age. Patients suffering from somatopsychosis are often hospitalized in somatic hospitals with “acute abdomen”, “suspicion of myocardial infarction”, “exacerbation of osteochondrosis”, etc. That is, somatopsychosis mimics a severe somatic disease; the patient himself is convinced of its presence. Correct diagnosis of somatopsychosis is based on the discrepancy between the patient’s complaints and some somatic disease (“multiple complaints syndrome”) in combination with “disabling” hypochondria. Ideally, such patients should be treated by a psychiatrist. In reality, internists are the first to encounter patients suffering from somatopsychosis: cardiologists, neurologists, surgeons, etc. With somatopsychosis, the core of personality is preserved, so such patients find themselves out of sight of psychiatrists for a long time. Difficult to treat are those patients whose symptoms of somatopsychosis are combined with symptoms of a chronic somatic disease (for example, angina pectoris). In this case, it can be extremely difficult to differentiate dangerous sensations (for example, angina pectoris) from non-dangerous ones (for example, neurotic cardialgia).
The final stage of cardioneurotic syndrome is progressive somatopsychosis (hypochondriacal delusional psychosis). The fundamental difference from the previous stage is thatthat a patient with progressive somatopsychosis is convinced that his symptoms are “projected from the outside.” In other words, something external will be to blame for the bodily sensations (“at night my wife beats me, after which my heart breaks all day”). The core of the personality is destroyed; the new personality, due to delusional symptoms, is patronized by a psychiatrist.
Neurotic personality disorder, like any somatic disease, requires close attention from a doctor. The lack of timely, correct diagnosis and treatment can lead to severe, disabling consequences for the patient, when a harmless, functional cardioneurotic disease turns into a psychotic “idée fixe.”
