4 basic exercises to treat somatization – Online Psychologists

For thousands of years, Psychological theories treat the mind and body as if they were two different things. that only come together to make humans self-aware and fully functional.

It is curious that the body of people only has some kind of power over the mind in the sense that it retains it in a specific place and as for the rest, it is the mind that controls the body and proposes objectives.

Today, psychologists and psychiatrists believe that the mind and body are independent, but, although there have been a series of technical and scientific advances in recent years, There are some mental disorders that seem to tell us that this is not the case.even though we know that this is impossible.

The clear example of this is somatization.

Somatization is a set of physical symptoms that cause discomfort, but They have no medical explanation. Where there is somatization there are problems that are related to pain.

Diagnosis and treatment of somatization often falls on the somatic nervous system which is the part of the nervous system responsible for carrying sensory information and acts as a channel for electrical impulses that activate the muscles.

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) reveals that somatizing can be defined as transforming psychological and personal problems into organic problems without wanting to. It can be said that It is the physical expression of psychological discomfort consequence of the relationship between the mind and the body, if it affects one part, it affects the other as well.

Somatization can be caused by emotional problems such as anxiety or depression, stress because of the hectic life we ​​lead and negative emotions such as envy, jealousy and resentment.

Just as stress and emotions can turn into real physical pain, the opposite can also happen. For example, when a person is sick, their mind is also affected, which can lead to a bad mood.

There are some concepts that are said about somatization and are not like that:

Somatizations are the most common diagnostic criteria, since they are used to create categories in which some problems are included, the reason for which they occur is unknown. This is normal, since the number of symptoms that can appear to define somatization is very broad.

The cause is located in the nervous system since diagnosing pain in other parts such as areas of cellular tissue or organs is not so complicated.

In short, explaining the cause of somatizations is very difficult. For a time they were associated with hysteria, and today it is said that Somatizations are the consequence of certain psychological problems that struggle to emerge from our unconscious.

According to statistics, women are more likely to somatize than men and it often happens before age 30in youth.

A relationship has also been found between people who do not have a large amount of income, that is, those who are poorer and less educated people They are the ones who are most likely to experience a case of somatization. Therefore, when a case of somatization occurs, it is not only necessary to understand the person, but also the relationship that they have with their environment.

The most common somatizations are related to the Constant headaches, sexual pain and joint pain. There are other symptoms that are also common such as:

Recommended exercises to treat it

1. Recognize negative emotions

Common pains such as stomach pain or throat pain are easy to feel, that is, when they appear we know perfectly well what is happening to us. However, when they do not disappear or have a clear medical diagnosis, such as an infection, there is probably a psychological problem behind it. The bad thing about these pains is that they will not disappear with time, we must identify what negative emotion we have in our mind.

Can try to identify it on your own, but going to a psychologist can be of great help in seeing the origin of this pain, it will make it faster and easier.

Once we have identified the emotion, we will take a piece of paper and write down everything related to it: what symptoms it causes us, past experiences and how it appears in our mind. We will mention it out loud only once and we will not mention it again. After this, we will do the tasks we have scheduled for that day.

2. Move and take care of your body

As we have already mentioned, the body and the mind are related, so if we take care of the body, we also take care of the mind. Therefore, it is important to take care of ourselves physically and eat healthily, do sports, not smoke or drink excessively, etc. We must avoid anything that could harm our body.

Playing sports is an important factor as it reduces symptoms. of these problems, as well as making us feel better. When we exercise, endorphins and other substances are released that make us feel psychologically better and, consequently, somatization is reduced.

3. Control your breathing

To reduce somatization or any other problem, breathing exercises are essential. Controlling our breathing helps us relax and control anxiety.

One of the most common exercises is to put one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest, inhale and hold the air for 7 seconds and exhale slowly for 8 seconds. You will notice how your muscles slowly contract.

This should be done every 10 seconds, with about 6 breaths per minute.

The Yoga practice is very satisfying for these cases. When people go to a psychologist for this problem, professionals recommend signing up for a yoga class.

This exercise is able to reduce anxiety and therefore somatic effects.

Relaxation techniques such as Jakobson's or body scanning They are very productive. They involve paying attention to each part of your body, feeling the sensations, the position, the temperature and other aspects.

Somatization is the alert that your body produces to tell you that your mind needs help, which is why it is always good to go to a doctor, but also to a specialist.

Try a free online therapy session to treat your somatization problems.