{"id":3195,"date":"2023-04-19T15:02:20","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T13:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jessicazecchini.it\/senza-categoria\/disturbi-psicosomatici-come-comunica-la-psiche\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T18:13:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T16:13:21","slug":"psychosomatic-disorders-how-the-psyche-communicates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jessicazecchini.it\/en\/articles\/psychosomatic-disorders-how-the-psyche-communicates\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychosomatic disorders: how the psyche communicates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><em><b>What lies at the origin of psychosomatic disorders? What are the different types of psychosomatic conditions? Can hypochondria and alexithymia help us understand how psychosomatics work? How can online therapy help you \u201cgive words to your emotions\u201d and stop the cycle of somatization?<\/b><\/em><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">A psychosomatic disorder occurs when negative emotional states spill over into the body, worsening or even triggering physical illnesses. These disorders are not always easy to detect medically, as their root cause is psychological rather than organic.<\/p>\n<h3><b>What are psychosomatic disorders?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">In certain psychological conditions\u2014such as depression, anxiety disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorder\u2014psychosomatic symptoms are more likely to occur. Prolonged activation of the autonomic nervous system in response to negative emotions can cause \u201csomatization,\u201d producing physical symptoms in unrelated parts of the body.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Examples include a student suffering anxiety before an exam who experiences frequent vomiting, or someone under intense emotional stress (such as grief or divorce) who develops tachycardia and palpitations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Psychosomatic (or somatoform) disorders therefore reflect unresolved psychological distress, revealed through medical testing that rules out organic causes. Stress, worry, fear, depression, and pathological anxiety can all disrupt the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, demonstrating the tight mind\u2013body connection.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Types of psychosomatic disorders<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Psychosomatic conditions may affect various systems:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Gastrointestinal:<\/b><\/span> diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, colitis, gastritis, peptic ulcer, food intolerances.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Respiratory:<\/b><\/span> bronchial asthma, hyperventilation syndrome.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Cardiovascular:<\/b><\/span> hypertension, tachycardia, arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Urogenital:<\/b><\/span> impotence, anorgasmia, menstrual irregularities, premature ejaculation, vaginismus.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Musculoskeletal:<\/b><\/span> back pain, myalgia, headache, arthritis.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Dermatological:<\/b><\/span> acne, psoriasis, dermatitis, hives, excessive sweating.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Pseudo-neurological:<\/b><\/span> paralysis, loss of coordination, difficulty swallowing, temporary blindness or deafness, amnesia.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Endocrine (HPA axis):<\/b><\/span> maladaptive stress responses with systemic consequences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">These disorders can severely impact social, work, emotional, and family life, reducing overall quality of life.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Hypochondria<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Hypochondria is characterized by obsessive anxiety about one\u2019s health, even over minor symptoms. It can become so debilitating that it ruins the individual\u2019s life, creating constant fear of life-threatening illness and leading to endless medical testing. In severe cases, hypochondria overlaps with depression and psychosomatic symptoms.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Alexithymia: at the root of psychosomatic disorders<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Alexithymia\u2014literally \u201cno words for emotions\u201d\u2014was described in the 1970s by Nemiah and Sifneos, who observed patients with psychosomatic illnesses struggling to identify or express feelings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Key features include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\">Difficulty recognizing or describing emotions.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Limited emotional vocabulary.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Poor dream activity and imagination.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Externally focused thinking.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Rigid, emotionless expression.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Overadaptation and conformity.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Superficial or avoidant relationships.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Impulsive responses to stress (e.g., substance abuse, overeating).<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Frequent physical symptoms in response to emotional distress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">Research links alexithymia to respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and dermatological illnesses, and even cancer. Its suppression of anger, grief, and other emotions contributes to both psychological and physical suffering.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Early trauma may also play a role, with alexithymia serving as a defense mechanism to avoid painful emotions\u2014leading to an inner emptiness and chronic \u201cresomatization\u201d through the body.<\/p>\n<h3><b>How online therapy can help<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Emotions are our compass for both self-understanding and well-being. When ignored or repressed, negative emotions can fuel serious psychosomatic issues, creating a dangerous cycle of mental and physical distress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Online therapy helps patients with psychosomatic disorders by <span class=\"s2\"><b>bringing repressed emotions to the surface<\/b><\/span>. It focuses on \u201cemotional literacy\u201d\u2014giving words to feelings\u2014through recognition and expression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">By addressing the original sources of trauma and reconnecting with the emotional self, therapy restores vitality, fosters healing, and improves quality of life across social, professional, and relational domains. Without this inner work, both emotional and physical suffering tend to intensify.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>For information, contact Dr. Jessica Zecchini<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Email: consulenza@jessicazecchini.it \u2014 WhatsApp: +39 370 32 17 351<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What lies at the origin of psychosomatic disorders? What are the different types of psychosomatic conditions? Can hypochondria and alexithymia help us understand how psychosomatics work? How can online therapy help you \u201cgive words to your emotions\u201d and stop the cycle of somatization? A psychosomatic disorder occurs when negative emotional states spill over into the&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\" [&hellip;]\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jessicazecchini.it\/en\/articles\/psychosomatic-disorders-how-the-psyche-communicates\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Psychosomatic disorders: how the psyche communicates - Jessica Zecchini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What lies at the origin of psychosomatic disorders? 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