Psychosomatics Of The Skin: Causes And Effects

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Psychological reasons "on the fingers"

I consider the psychosomatics of the skin as a way of adapting the psyche to a situation in which there is no moral or physical ability to change anything. It is very indicative that most of the dermatological problems begin in preschool age, and the most "striking" diseases appear already in infancy, Take at least atopic dermatitis.

Let’s think about why children’s age. My theory is that the skills of influencing the outside world in the form of words and active actions become available to a person after 3 years. Of course, "contact" parents can be attuned to the needs of the child in the newborn age of the baby, but how many have such a skill, especially if you take the "Spock" generation? I doubt.

Some interesting facts: the infant is very intuitive in terms of the level of mental organization. This is because in the early years and stages of brain development, the limbic system is most developed, not the cortex. It is the limbic system that is responsible for the emotional response to a security or insecurity situation. And for a small child, everything that is new is unsafe. The parent's task is to form an artificial "belly" - an atmosphere of response to basic needs. The baby is so empathic that it reacts to the emotional state of the mother in the other room (you can google the video of this experiment).

So, a small child, whose limbic system is tuned for emotional contact (a gift from our animal ancestors) with the mother, has the only opportunity to tell the world that he needs something, or vice versa, something is not needed - by screaming or crying. Whether his need will be satisfied depends primarily on the mood of the mother for the child, for that very emotional contact.

What happens when there is no adequate response to screaming and crying? The child will scream once, twice, three times, ten times … and gets a basic experience at the level of a reflex - after the cry there is no satisfaction, after the cry comes emotional pain. This is how you can describe the state when the baby is left with an "open" need and without emotional contact with the mother - without an artificial abdomen.

Like any living organism, the baby seeks to avoid a situation that is followed by pain. And at some point he stops screaming.

I hear this "switching" in the stories of my Clients - "my mother told me that somehow I gradually stopped crying and screaming and became an almost ideal child." The psychologist will hear this "fairy tale" story as "at some point I realized that there is no point in declaring my need - there will still be no reaction and it will hurt.

What does the psychosomatics of the skin have to do with it? Let's look at the situation from two sides:

Physiology

Science has long known that any emotional state is based on a physiological component - a change in the ratio of certain hormones, biologically active substances, and mediators in the blood. There is a double connection here - as changes at the level of blood composition entail a change in the emotional state, so these conditions can provoke an aggravation of changes in the state of the blood.

The above hormones, biologically active substances and mediators are produced by our body for a reason, they are responsible for adaptation to stressful conditions.

What is stress? No, these are not nerves at work, this is any change in the usual rhythm, situation and state. If the body needs to readjust, the body is under stress. So, different substances are produced for different stress conditions, which have different effects on blood vessels, organs and tissues. And this influence changes the quality of the function of this organ or tissue.

A separate "song" is autoimmune processes. This is when the body perceives its own cells as foreign and directs immune cells to neutralize them. A reaction similar to an inflammatory one develops, but without an infectious agent in the body.

Thus, from a medical point of view, there are three risk factors for the occurrence of skin problems:

• hormonal disorders
• prolonged stress
• autoimmune processes.

Nothing complicated, just physiology. Nothing mystical - ordinary chemistry 😌

Psychology

Now about the spiritual. As I wrote a little higher, it is difficult for a small child to convey his need clearly and distinctly. Because he feels it more than realizes it. And the vocabulary is not enough for a correct description.

If the available methods have not led to an adequate response, the child accumulates (accumulates) internal anxiety, insecurity due to an unmet need. This anxiety does not find a way out and is felt in the body. Remember yourself when you are very nervous and there is no way to discharge - you feel anxiety physically - your heart is pounding, you turn red and then turn pale, palms sweat. The child reacts the same way.

This is one aspect - dissatisfaction.

Another factor in the occurrence of psychosomatic skin problems is violation of boundaries … What are we talking about? Borders are a zone of physical and emotional comfort.

Boundary trespassing is a shameless intrusion into physical or emotional space that results in perceived discomfort. If an adult is able to refuse physical touch or rudeness in his address, then the child is not capable. He is forced to be in the field of insecurity and insensitivity to his condition and to cope with it.

At the same time, internal anxiety causes the above-described changes at the level of physiology and "hits" in every sense on the most vulnerable part - on the skin.

There is and another theory(and I also believe in it): through various conditions of the skin conditions are created, de unwanted (= unsafe) physical contact becomes impossible. I really see it at work - when in contact with a morally and physically uncomfortable environment, a person develops dermatitis or hypersensitivity of the skin.

Separately about autoimmune

A lot of theories and theorists are trying to describe and identify the reasons for the development of autoimmune processes.

You can be as skeptical as you like, but self-destruction of an organism is against nature and all instincts. And I am inclined to believe that all autoimmune diseases are psychosomatic.

There are studies that show personality traits of people with cancer or other auto-aggressive processes.

Among the most destructive and permanent states are feelings of guilt, existential self-loathing, and often the desire and / or attempt of the mother to have an abortion, or the death of the mother during childbirth. These are three factors aimed at self-destruction. There is no clinically reliable evidence to explain the reason for this reflection. Believe it or not, it's up to you. I believe and see confirmation in practice.

This is the most important thing that I wanted to convey about why skin psychosomatosis can develop and how, in my opinion, this can be explained. I assume there are violent skeptics and critics among those reading this article. And I am grateful to them that they have finished reading. For those who are ready to accept this option - thank you for your trust and attention. A little later, I will definitely post material on the methods of therapy for psychosomatic skin diseases that I use.

Health to you! Follow the announcements, come to the training:)