Have you ever felt stressed and experienced physical symptoms at the same time such as a stomach ache or headache? It’s likely they are linked as emotional difficulties can affect us physically due to the mind-body connection (Rief & Barsky, 2005).
Many psychological concerns also tend to exhibit physical symptoms, such as anxiety where it can make your heartbeat faster, increase sweating, and body temperature. But sometimes we experience physical symptoms out of the blue and there is no medical explanation for it. These symptoms are considered to be psychosomatic, where a physical symptom is linked to psychological reasons or factors.
Some people experience psychosomatic symptoms due to tendencies to suppress their emotions (Okur Güney et al., 2019). There are also cultural differences in the way we express distress, where collectivist cultures (e.g., East Asia) tend to somaticize psychological symptoms such as depression compared to individualistic cultures (e.g., Western; Zhou et al., 2011). Psychosomatic symptoms may not appear frequently at first but for some, they can start to become a frequent occurrence and impact their daily life, ability to go to school or work. It becomes important to learn how to manage the psychosomatic symptoms as it may not always be possible to manage it through medication (e.g., painkillers).
As a start, here are some strategies you might want to try to help manage the symptoms:
Disclaimer: If you’re experiencing physical symptoms and are unable to identify a specific reason for it, you should first clear this with a medical doctor to rule out a physical/organic reason for the symptoms before determining it could be psychosomatic.
Identify the trigger
- If you are unsure of the exact trigger for the psychosomatic symptoms, it will be useful to track when it occurs and noting down what happens before and after the symptoms. This will help you identify any potential patterns and the possible triggers for your symptoms. It is best to track your symptoms for at least 1-2 weeks to be able to collect enough information.
- You can note down what was happening when you experienced the symptoms, where you were, what feelings and thoughts did you have etc. (e.g., at home, felt angry and frustrated about work email)
Relaxation Strategies
- Once you have identified the triggers, it would help to practice some relaxation strategies when you are experiencing the triggers or the symptoms
- These strategies help because usually when we experience physical symptoms related to heightened emotions, our muscles and body tense up, which can exacerbate the physical symptoms. Engaging in these strategies raises our awareness of what is going on within our body and provides an opportunity to help relax the body and mind.
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Begin in a comfortable position (lying down or sitting) and you can close your eyes or look at a fixed area in front of you
- Start by squeezing your right fist for 5 seconds and then releasing it, repeat this for the left fist
- Next, move onto your arms and tensing the muscles for 5 seconds before relaxing it, one arm at a time
- Repeat the process for your shoulders, stomach, and legs, concentrating on each individual body part
- Slow breathing
- Sit in a comfortable position and breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds, noticing how your chest rises
- Hold for 2-3 seconds and then exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds, relaxing your body
- Repeat a few more times for as long as you need to
Problem-Solving
- If the trigger for your symptoms is something you can work on with specific actions or solutions, engaging in problem-solving might be able to help:
- Identify the problem and situation
- Outline the possible solutions
- Explore the pros and cons of each solution
- Choose the most preferred solution after weighing the pros and cons
- Consider what needs to be done to apply the solution and if there are any potential barriers to initiating the solution
If you are still experiencing difficulties managing these symptoms or are unsure where to start, it would be beneficial to consult with a mental health professional.
To meet with a professional psychologist or counsellor, call The Other Clinic at 8809 0659 or email us hello@theotherclinic.sg.
References:
Okur Güney, Z. E., Sattel, H., Witthöft, M., & Henningsen, P. (2019). Emotion regulation in patients with somatic symptom and related disorders: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 14(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217277
Rief, W., & Barsky, A. J. (2005). Psychobiological perspectives on somatoform disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(10), 996-1002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.03.013
Zhou, X., Dere, J., Zhu, X., Yao, S., Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., & Ryder, A. G. (2011). Anxiety symptom presentations in Han Chinese and Euro-Canadian outpatients: Is distress always somatised in China? Journal of Affective Disorders, 135(1-3), 111-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.06.049