Stress-Induced Psychosomatic Illness

1793 Words4 Pages

“You need to relax.” This phrase is one that most individuals hear weekly, and sometimes daily. It is hard to deal with situations that put a mental strain on the body, such as problems in a relationship, at work, or at home. In order to try and adapt to the situation, the body goes into panic mode. If the emotions that are associated with these occurrences remain constant, they can begin to impact physical health as well as mental health. The physical symptoms put an even greater strain on mental health because the individual begins to worry about them. The individual becomes lost in a vicious cycle.
Stress is “the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response.” Many people realize that stress has a great impact on psychological health; however, they do not realize that physical health can be compromised as well. When the body is put under stress, physiological changes take place, such as increased heart rate or blood pressure. Many individuals do not know the extent to which stress can impact their bodies because they cannot see the changes taking place. If stress is prolonged, physical symptoms may begin to arise. These symptoms are real; however, they may or may not be due to some sort of physical disorder. Stress-induced anxiety may begin to form within the individual because of a constant fear that they have a serious medical condition. The cycle will repeat itself with potentially worsening symptoms.
A psychosomatic illness “is a disease which involves both mind [psyche] and body [soma]” and “is thought to be caused, or made worse, by mental factors.” These mental factors include stress and anxiety. Stress causes the release of a wide variety of hormones into th...

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...as of their health.

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Guralnik, David B. Webster's New World Dictionary. Englewood Cliffs: William Collins + World Publishing CO., Inc., 1974.
Hacker, Jeffrey H. Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge. Grolier Incorporated, 1991.
Kenny, Dr. Tim. Psychosomatic Disorders. May 1, 2011. http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Psychosomatic-Disorders.htm (accessed December 2, 2013).
Kumar, Anil, Puneet Rinwa, Gurleen Kaur, and Lalit Machawal. "Stress: Neurobiology, consequences, and management." Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 2013: 1-7.
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