I once complained to my biochemist friend about a sore throat and in response I suddenly heard: "Probably, you can not tell something to close people, you have negative emotions, you swallow them, and that's why you have a sore throat". At this point, I really restrained the emotions that had rolled on the scientifically-minded person and choked on tea. Yes, psychosomatics exists, and doctors regularly see such patients, including ENT.

But guys, let's think critically and deal with each mystical thesis separately. Approximately as we did for four widely-spread states.

MYTH 1. ABOUT THE EARLY NAIL AND MOVEMENT FORWARD

Psychosomatics.

An ingrown toenail personifies the constant anxiety, anxiety and guilt of a person about whether he has the right to move forward in life, into the future. Affirmations from ingrown nails:

I myself freely and easily choose the direction of my movement forward, into the future.

They need to be repeated daily two times a day for 15-20 times for three months. 

Most psychologists agree that this pathology is related to the fact that a person is not able to let go of his past, he lives by him, ignoring the present and the future.

In this situation, in order to get rid of an ingrown nail, it is necessary to resort to the help of a professional psychologist. " A rational approach, by the way! It is aimed at increasing the personal income of a psychologist.

SCIENTIFIC VIEW

The ingrown nail has no psychosomatic nature. Dot. In scientific publications of recent decades on the subject of ingrown nails, only materialistic causes of nail growth are described: deformities of the feet, improper cutting of the nail corners, wearing tight shoes,

An instructive example of the creation of psychosomatic myths, we can observe due to the experience of Jules Masserman - an outstanding American psychiatrist with psychoanalytic education. In the early fifties he wrote a satirical article about an ingrown nail called "Psychosomatic Profile of an Ingrown Toe Nail" (Psychosomatic Profile of an Ingrown Toe Nail). His aim was to ridicule the excessive symbolism of the Freudians.

The article was published in the journal American Journal of Psychiatry. The toe of the thumb on the leg, according to Jules, undoubtedly symbolizes the penis - it forms the protruding part of the body, solid, oblong rounded, makes the same movements when walking. It is also important that the nail grows from the female in fact and the shape of the nail bed, which is called a bed by chance nail-bed

The nail, the edge of its ingrown finger in the flesh, is nothing but an erect and frustrated phallus stretching back to its mother's cradle-skin.

There is an oedipus complex of penis-nail, which is realized when life-related obstacles arise or under the pressure of tight shoes. Well, etc. It is worth saying that the enthusiastic colleagues of psychoanalysts and psychologists did not feel a trick: they began to congratulate Jules on success and praise for insight.

MYTH 2. ON INFERTILITY AND THE CARPET OF UNCONSCIOUS

Psychosomatics.

I think it's no secret to anyone that the reasons for not being able to conceive are in the realm of the psychic, not the physical. Of course, bodily changes will be in any case, since the brain will give the command to change the body so that it can not become pregnant. - Actually, check and checkmate for all reproductive medicine.

The first reason is a special program of bodily changes that cause obstruction of the uterine tube.

Do you know that infertility in 90% of cases is a psychosomatic disease?

The most insidious thing is that you can not remember why your unconscious does not want to allow birth.

Incredibly convenient formulation!

At the time of ovulation, the body (or circumstances) subconsciously blocks the possibility of pregnancy: the tooth has hurt, distant relatives have arrived, it is urgent to go on a business trip.

There are many problems and fears that can "start" infertility: the fear to remain alone, die in childbirth, give birth to a dead or unhealthy child, subconscious disgust for children (children are a hindrance to a happy successful life), rejection of a husband, dislike of their own mother, etc. .

If the child is not there, then the woman somehow incorrectly wants it. The question naturally arises: how do anyone manage to have children in this world?

To prove the psychosomatic nature of infertility, the authors give examples of unexpected pregnancies, when a resigned couple leaves attempts to conceive, perhaps even takes a child from an orphanage - and behold! A miracle happens. These stories are full of stories and forums. "Solve the inner conflict, relax, and everything will turn out" - that's what not only philistines and psychologists think, but also - the drum roll - the gynecologists!

SCIENTIFIC VIEW

Only 5% of couples have psychological causes of infertility according to the expert in the field - a professor, medical psychologist, psychotherapist Tewes H. Wischmann. Here are the facts on which he relied in his comprehensive work (Psychogenic Infertility-Myths and Facts: Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 2000): 1. From 15 to 60% of women with idiopathic infertility (ie, without clear cause of somatic and with hypothetically psychological) spontaneously become pregnant in the first year of observation without any treatment

Among the 133 couples who stopped wanting a biological child and adopted a baby, only 20% became pregnant, and among the 400 couples who continued to "try" - 60% 2. In another study, the percentage of those who became pregnant after adoption was even lower - only 3%, and among "prospectors" - 66%. Contrary to the myth, the probability of becoming pregnant decreases by three or more times if the couple leaves their attempts to conceive and switches to adoption.

Studies of childless couples in more than 50 years have not been able to establish a clear causal relationship between emotional state and infertility. Although, of course, psycho-hormonal and psychoimmunological phenomena are, and they are being studied. Infertility in itself significantly affects the level of anxiety and depression in women. In addition, there is still no direct evidence that psychotherapy increases the chances of couples getting pregnant. Improves quality of life and emotional state - yes, of course.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHILD

The German manual "Psychosomatics in Reproductive Medicine" (Psychosomatics in Reproductive Medicine, 2000) clearly describes the psychological factors that affect the childlessness of spouses:

contrary to the desire to have children and the recommendations of the attending doctor, the couple continues the behavior that may hinder conception (for example, unbalanced diets, energy-consuming sports, drinking alcohol, smoking, overload at work, etc.);

a couple does not have sex on the days of possible conception, or one / both partners have a sexual dysfunction of inorganic genesis;

the couple knowingly agrees to infertility therapy, but then does not go through it.

In all other cases, the false psychologization of infertility ("You do not have a child, because there is a subconscious conflict") can only harm, increasing the anxiety of partners.

MYTH 3. ABOUT CARIES AND FEAR TO LOSE THE RECOGNITION IN

Psychosomatics

"Teeth in psychosomatic medicine will deteriorate from caries when a person becomes excessively social, adjusts to the environment in fear of losing public recognition and position."

"If the teeth are broken, you need to ask yourself: in relation to whom in society you can not freely express your aggression or express, but not enough"?

"Lack of hardness of character causes softening of dental tissues".

Symbolic meaning: teeth - to eat and bite if necessary. They should not be idle.

Lovely, well-bred people, regularly suppressing their aggression, are doomed to caries. If you set a goal, you can even find descriptions of what kind of tooth suffers from problems with a relative.

SCIENTIFIC VIEW

Caries and mental state are related, but not directly. This connection is based, like much else, on stress. Stress states affect:

total metabolism, including the exchange of calcium, the level of which falls in the blood and hard tissues; the rate of salivation - it decreases significantly;

biochemical composition of the salivary fluid - the concentration of calcium, lysozyme, Ig A and other significant components decreases;

tone of the chewing musculature - it rises.

These changes really serve as additional factors in the development of caries. On mice and humans this has long been well studied, for more details on this you can read in the article "The influence of stress on hard tooth tissues."

In general, the risk factors for caries are more than a hundred, but there are three key ones:

a diet high in fast carbohydrates

inadequate oral hygiene

poor heredity.

According to the scientific article "Psychophysiological types of personality and the risk of dental caries in clinically healthy individuals with different indexes of body mass index," the theory of strong teeth among predators and aggressors of homo sapiens is generally refuted. So, the conflicting personalities, that is, those who do not suffer from restraint, were 25% among the healthiest and already 41% among the most sick with regard to the caries of the participants in the study.

MYTH 4. ABOUT HERPES AND UNBELIEVABLE OBD

Psychosomatics

Oh, this is a storehouse of interesting quotes:

"Colds" on the lips are the result of long-held rage or unspoken resentment. There is no splash of emotion, words get stuck, they do not find an outlet, painful blisters appear on the lips. "

"The main theme of herpes is the experience that there is some kind of separation between people, a long separation."

"Another psychological cause of colds on the lip is associated with the long-term concealment of any information, especially unpleasant."

"The pain caused by genital herpes is a manifestation of the emotional pain that your attitude to sexual life causes in you."

Of course, the authors of the articles admit that herpes is caused by strains of the herpes virus, but they claim a powerful psychosomatic onset of the disease. In some, relapses are much more frequent than in others, and this is no accident, the internal conflicts are to blame for everything ... Psychological conditionality of the course of infectious diseases is a common place in the "psychosomatic" Internet.

SCIENTIFIC VIEW

The psychosomatic component of the development of herpes is definitely there, and numerous scientific publications are devoted to that, especially herpes genital.

In one curious experiment in 2001, 20 volunteers with herpes participated, which relapsed more than five times a year. At the same time, participants were convinced that exacerbations were provoked using dirty dishes.

Participants in the experiment were randomly divided into two groups. The first group was shown five photos of dirty glasses, and then the same dirty glasses are live. The second group was shown only neutral objects, also in photos and live. After 48 hours in the first group, four people developed herpetic eruptions, and in the second none. The differences were statistically significant.

There are studies linking together stress, depression, anxiety, anger and immunological indicators, important for the recurrence of herpetic infection. People who often meet with herpes are helped by psychotherapeutic support6. However, there are authors who talk about exaggeration of the role of mental factors in the relapse of these nasty bubbles.

Psychosomatic myths will outlive us all: so sometimes you want to change for the better, harmonious, so that all the ills immediately end. You can, for example, shout at children for the sake of healthy teeth or become a director of the company with the goal of preventing ingrown nails.

And if you do not have jokes, then be thrice critical to any information and take care of yourself: your mind and body, although this is difficult, because, as Oscar Wilde used to say," Everything that is beautiful in this life is either immoral or illegal , or leads to obesity.