Psychosomatics of cough, its causes and treatment. Psychosomatics of cough: treatment in adults Liz Burbeau cough in a child

Psychosomatics is a science formed at the intersection of medicine and psychology. The main task of psychosomatics is to study the relationship of mental factors on human somatics. In other words: how psychological health affects the state of the body.

Modern science about the relationship between the mind and body studies diseases of the digestive tract, cardiovascular system, skin ailments and respiratory tract pathologies. The psychosomatics of cough is one of the areas of scientific and practical research.

Psychosomatic causes of cough

A psychosomatic cough develops in response to a hidden desire to be the center of attention. The cause of a psychosomatic cough is often formed between two positions: the inability due to the situation to manifest itself and between the desire to attract attention to oneself.

Often such conditions are present during various stresses and internal experiences of a person. We can talk about a psychosomatic cough in adults when there are no external objective reasons for it: there is no bronchitis, no allergic reactions, no inflammation of the larynx - the person is physiologically healthy.

Stress

Psychological stress activates a number of physiological mechanisms: activation of the sympathoadrenal system, which causes the release of stress hormones. This reaction is perceived by the body as an “attack” on the body. The answer is coughing, as a way of getting rid of pathological influences and as a result of the action of stress factors.

Experiences

In some areas of psychology, bodily symptoms are perceived as a symbol of the emotional imprint on the body. Internal experiences are always unpleasant, both bodily sensations and psychological disturbances. Thus, a sore throat during experiences is considered as a mechanism for rejecting unpleasant emotions. It’s as if a person is trying to “cough up” all negative experiences into the outside world and cleanse the body of anxious feelings.

Environment

The surrounding society is one of the strongest factors in the formation of personality and current emotional state. Effective human behavior in society is always a difficult task.

Conflicts often arise between people in the environment. There are people who speak openly about their dissatisfaction, but there are also individuals who hide or are afraid to talk about their irritation. Thus, a cough with hidden dissatisfaction appears in people of the second type. Their attacks symbolize hidden aggression.

Cough: reasons according to Louise Hay

Louise Hay is a supporter of the opinion that coughing is a desire to make oneself known to the world. She claims that a sore throat and the reaction to it is a strong intention to show everyone and attract attention through loud throat sounds. Louise Hay states that in such a situation it is better to use the following affirmation (a short verbal statement to improve the emotional state): “I am loved, I am needed and I am valued.”

Cough: reasons according to Liz Burbo

Psychologist Liz Burbo deals with coughs that occur for no apparent reason. The researcher claims that such a reaction is formed in response to emotional blocking. Often people with this problem are irritable individuals who have an overdeveloped inner judge and critic. The psychologist advises such clients to control the inner critic and, as far as possible, weaken his harsh judgments towards himself. She also recommends learning to be patient with your unpleasant thoughts.

Cough: reasons according to Sinelnikov

Valery Sinelnikov, a homeopathic doctor, considers this symptom based on the diseases in which it occurs. The doctor says this:

1. Bronchitis for children and adults. The disease occurs when there is an unfavorable psychological atmosphere in the family. A child whose parents constantly quarrel will often get sick, and coughing is the child’s only opportunity to express his dissatisfaction.
2. Asthmatic manifestations. According to the doctor, asthma is suppressed tears in a child. This is the presence of an internal conflict in which the child cannot release his negative emotions.
3. Pathologies of the upper respiratory tract. Such ailments are usually accompanied by mucus and sputum production. Coughing in these diseases indicates suppressed aggression and hidden anger.

Drug therapy for psychosomatic cough

Psychotherapists have long recognized the influence of the mind and thoughts on the body, and when a patient appears with psychosomatics of unknown etiology, they prescribe complex treatment. For psychosomatic cough with sputum, treatment includes observation by an allergist, because phlegm is a consequence of the accumulation of mucus on the bronchial ducts, and hypersecretion of mucus is the result of edema, requiring the use of antihistamines.

On a note! To relieve neuratic spasms in the larynx, trachea and bronchi, ataractic drugs (minor tranquilizers) are prescribed, which calm nervous stimulation and have a relaxing effect on the muscles that relieve spasms.

Most modern drugs do not cause drowsiness, addiction or withdrawal symptoms. For example, the new generation drug Atarax is prescribed by doctors for the treatment of psychosomatic cough in a child. After taking tranquilizers, doctors recommend:

• sedatives of plant origin (Novopassit, Persen, Negrustin, etc.);
• herbal soothing teas and infusions (St. John's wort, chamomile, peppermint, valerian roots, oregano, hawthorn, etc.);
• tinctures (valerian, peony, motherwort, etc.)

Causes of psychological cough in children

The most common cause of cough in children is family conflicts. The unfavorable situation within the family plays a role here, when children are the main victims. Often a child suffers when he sees his parents quarreling, but due to his small age, the child cannot verbally express his emotions, and if he can, he is afraid.

So, the only way to show your suffering is to draw attention to yourself by coughing. Such children may choke, which expresses a strong negative emotional state.

More details about the psychosomatic manifestations of cough in children are described in this article.

The main causes of psychogenic cough

Symptoms of nervous cough accompany mental disorders, disorders of the mechanisms of impulse transmission along nerves. It appears in people who feel constant anxiety , excitement, and stress.

These symptoms can be caused by:

• Loneliness or quarrels with loved ones;
• Stressful work or home environment;
• “Mirror effect” during illness of loved ones;
• Doing something that disgusts you;
• Waiting for exams.

Negative emotions begin to provoke irritation of the cough center, but symptoms can also appear when receiving powerful joyful feelings. The nervous system is equally activated in these cases, overexcitation affects the cough center.

Thus, a nervous cough is typical in adults and children “out of habit.” It arises from somatic cough manifestations, as a sign of severe lung disease, which is fixed reflexively over a long period of the disease. The disease has passed, but the symptoms continue to remain.

Psychogenic coughs are very often a “bad habit”, with the help of which a person evokes sympathy from others. Occurring at first as a conscious simulation, this cough eventually becomes fixed reflexively in the psyche.

How to treat psychosomatic cough

The main way to treat the disease is to visit a psychologist or psychotherapist. Traditional somatic medicine has no “authority” in the treatment of psychosomatic cough, so medications do not play an effective role here.

In children

For children, play methods and art therapy methods are most often used. With their help, psychologists help “tell” what the child feels. Various dolls, toys, drawings play the role of symbols depicting the relationship between the child and parents.

In adults

For adults, standard methods are used. Thus, by visiting a psychologist, the client learns to recognize internal impulses and give them freedom. This approach will allow emotions and thoughts to be released. Sedatives in the form of drugs or herbal remedies can help.

Features of cough

Cough is just a symptom, and far from the only one. Considering that the most common cause of cough is respiratory tract diseases caused by bacterial and viral infections, cough treatment is aimed at treating these diseases. Such diseases include commonplace ARVI, and well-known bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, whooping cough, and such a very serious disease as tuberculosis. Cough can also be caused by cancer of the respiratory system. There is also an allergic cough.

These diseases and conditions have various symptoms, some of which are obvious, while others can only be determined after passing certain tests and conducting various types of research. However, they all have one thing in common - in addition to coughing, all these diseases are accompanied by many additional symptoms, such as:

• labored breathing;
• wheezing;
• increased body temperature (from low-grade to very high);
• runny nose;
• increased lacrimation;
• weakness, increased sweating;
• sudden loss of body weight and many others.

In addition, the cough itself, over the course of many diseases caused by infections, changes significantly from dry, non-productive, to wet, productive, and with proper adequate treatment, it usually goes away within a few weeks.

Relaxation methods

Autogenic training is one of the ways to restore internal balance. AT restores the disturbed balance of physiological processes, relieves stress and anxiety. You can learn this method yourself. Autogenic training is based on muscle relaxation and phrases that are suggested to oneself.

help yourself

Self-analysis is one of the ways to help yourself. To do this, you need to carefully monitor the flow of your thoughts and analyze every emotion. When a cough occurs, you should immediately turn your attention to yourself and try to explain the cough that has arisen in the current situation.

Views on the connection between cough and psychosomatics in adults

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o6U_asoQFA

Psychosomatics is an independent direction in medicine that studies the impact of psychological factors on the origin and course of bodily diseases. Adherents of alternative medicine are confident that almost all somatic disorders have psychological causes.

If, after diagnosis, doctors do not find the organic nature of the disease, it is classified as a psychosomatic disorder.

Psychosomatics is a promising direction in psychology and medicine, which is disciplinary in nature. It is considered from the perspective of several sciences - biochemistry, cultural studies, biophysics, philosophy, physiology, psychology.

As a discipline, psychosomatics was formed under the influence of philosophy and psychology. Therefore, its adherents are confident that the root cause of somatic diseases should not be sought in the material plane. According to one of the theories of psychosomatics, physiological disorders are provoked by emotions:

• sadness;
• anger;
• despondency;
• fear;
• rage;
• disgust, etc.

According to some adherents of psychosomatics, a dry cough means that a person is trying to get rid of accumulated mental garbage. Frequent colds accompanied by coughing indicate excessive irritability, intolerance, and self-criticism. Such people are prone to self-flagellation and depression.

To diagnose a neurotic cough, you need to find the exact psychological cause. Let's take a closer look at the theories of popular psychosomatist psychologists.

Psychosomatics of cough

Emotional stress, dissatisfaction in life , inability to get what you think you deserve, inability to give your family what you think is necessary, all this puts off a negative effect on the body. This negative energy affects all organs through the nervous tissue. As a result, blood pressure increases, cardiovascular function and the gastrointestinal tract malfunction, breathing quickens, and so on. Negative impulses lead our body to a stressful state.

How to deal with psychosomatic cough?

The fight against cough, the nature of which is psychological, is aimed at influencing them with medications and psychological techniques. Drug therapy includes taking sedatives. By eliminating nervous tension, they help eliminate an unpleasant symptom.

In severe cases, antidepressants and tranquilizers are prescribed. They should be drunk with great caution and in the dosage prescribed by the doctor. The most effective way to relieve tension is considered to be a change of environment. This helps get rid of irritating moments and cough in general. It is useful to spend time at a resort or sanatorium.

You should get plenty of rest and go out into nature more often. Ideally, such events should be carried out in a narrow family circle if the cough is caused by an unfavorable atmosphere in the family.

Complex treatment involves performing acts of relaxation and calming breathing techniques. Specialists may administer electric shocks to the forearm as a distraction.

What is the psychosomatics of a runny nose and other respiratory diseases?

Almost all of us have a stuffy nose. Psychologists look at the psychosomatics of a runny nose from different angles. All their opinions agree on one thing: the nose is the organ responsible for self-esteem. When he is free and works fully, a person lives in harmony with his feelings. Nasal congestion is a projection of internal feelings into the external world. At the same time, a person experiences heaviness, dissatisfaction with himself, his dignity is infringed.

The modern world puts pressure on people. Unloved work, loans and mortgages, discord in the family, hidden grievances - all this accumulates inside. The feeling of confusion becomes a constant companion. It seems that there is no way out of this situation, and we blame ourselves for everything. There are times when self-esteem is lowered by people around you, constantly paying attention to shortcomings, pointing out mistakes, and finding fault. It is not surprising that the body defends itself, because if you are sick, you can hide from problems at home.

Psychological background of asthma

Bronchial asthma is considered a complex and poorly understood respiratory disease. The body reacts to external stimuli, resulting in an attack of suffocation. It is not always possible to predict which substance will become a catalyst. Choking can occur from dust, pollen, stress, fear. When a patient cannot cope with his feelings, an asthma attack is most difficult to stop. During suffocation, the nose often becomes blocked, then the person begins to “grasp” air with his mouth, trying to get life-saving oxygen.

Children sometimes use illness to get attention. They associate asthma with feelings of inferiority, fear, and panic. An attack can occur when there is an excess of feelings, such as excitement, anxiety, melancholy.

The patient cannot cope with the life situation, and the body helps to escape. At the same time, the psychosomatics of a runny nose is obvious. Such people are prone to excessive excitability, fearful, emotionally changeable, and prone to depressed mood.

Psychologists also explain the onset of asthma by the inability to express negative feelings in other ways, such as through tears. An asthmatic tries to suppress the accumulated negativity, and it, in turn, breaks out in the form of a bronchial spasm.

To reduce the frequency of attacks, patients are advised to learn to express their emotions. The patient needs to understand the cause of his fears, then they can be dealt with and they will stop “choking” him.

Dejection as a cause of influenza

Flu is an infectious disease of the respiratory tract, accompanied by fever, chills, severe runny nose, and fatigue.

Flu is always associated with the world of interpersonal relationships. A person suffers from troubles with colleagues, friends, family, and the body “turns on” a defense mechanism. When diagnosing influenza, the patient is prescribed bed rest and sleep, during which time the internal sense of balance is restored and the emotional background is stabilized.

The flu also affects people who cannot formulate their desires, understand what to do and how to behave. The stronger the disease, the more difficult it is to understand its psychosomatics. The patient feels like a victim of the current circumstances and sees no way out.

In such a situation, the best solution is not to run away from the problem, but to understand its causes and change your attitude towards what is happening. It should be remembered that the flu reigns where the immune system is weakened, which, in turn, is weakened by a general negative attitude.

Psychosomatics of pneumonia

Pneumonia is a pulmonary disease. The lungs, filling with air, oxygenate the blood, which carries life throughout the body. Lung problems symbolize the inability to take what you need. Pneumonia is also associated with special events that take your breath away. Most often it is grief, fear, dead end. The psychosomatics of pneumonia is rooted in severe emotional shock.

Solving a problem on an emotional level:

1. Accept the situation. It is important to understand the cause of fear, stress, and depression. Such an event will affect life, it is difficult not to notice it. Separate it, outline the boundaries. Changes have occurred only in some areas of life, but otherwise everything is fine.
2. Consider the problem in parts. This way, you can begin to solve the problem step by step without taking on all the work at once.
3. Assess prospects. Look at the problem from different angles. Think about what will happen in this or that development of events.
4. Find a solution. The outcome can be anything, it all depends on how to achieve it. Consider all possibilities, even the most fantastic ones. Perhaps the very way out lies in them.
5. Control your thoughts. Life develops the way we set ourselves up. Try to think only in a positive direction.
6. Act. The problem will not budge if you do not solve it halfway. The plan has been developed, implement it!

Psychosomatic causes of ARVI

ARVI is a viral disease of the upper respiratory tract, a constant companion of which is a runny nose. It is known that, being in the same room with a sick person, not everyone present will get sick immediately, but some will remain healthy. The frequency and severity of respiratory diseases largely depends on the emotional background of a person. Lack of respect for oneself, betrayal of one's own ideas and principles, low self-esteem - each of these conditions increases the risk of illness. The immune system weakens and cannot fight the virus. On the one hand, a person gets sick so as not to solve accumulated problems, on the other hand, the body is completely exhausted by illness and stress. So the circle closes, and respiratory diseases become more and more severe.

However, ARVI does not always have a psychosomatic basis. The genetic predisposition of the patient plays a significant role here. Only a relapse of the disease signals a deterioration in the emotional state.

Sometimes an illness helps satisfy a person’s unfulfilled needs, such as outside care, communication with loved ones, doing what he loves (hobbies), rest and sleep, which, due to their high importance, cannot be constantly ignored. In this case, it is worth exploring the problem rather than running away from it. Take time for yourself and your desires.

Bronchitis or hidden resentment

With bronchitis, the chest is compressed so tightly that it is impossible to take a breath.

Psychologists suggest that this disease is more common in people with secret grudges.

This state can last for a long time, taking root deeper and deeper. Often bronchitis occurs due to childhood insults inflicted by parents or loved ones. A disease acquired in childhood can become chronic in adulthood. The psychosomatics of bronchitis are in many ways similar to the causes of bronchial asthma. Unexpressed resentment accumulates, begins to look for ways out and finds them, squeezing the bronchi, and bursts out with a cough.

If treatment with usual means does not help, it is necessary to find a psychological problem. The optimal solution is to understand the causes of the offense and forgive the person who caused it. Can't you forgive? Then take it for granted, don’t blame yourself and don’t reproach your opponent. Try to change your perception of the situation.

Each of the diseases considered is accompanied by swelling of the nasal mucosa, the patient sneezes and coughs. It is widely believed that the main cause of the disease is hypothermia, and a runny nose is transmitted through contact with a carrier of the infection. This attitude translates into a real illness, and is complicated by emotional instability and weakened immunity. If every person reconsidered their perception of a runny nose, there would be many more healthy people.

The following factors can be identified that contribute to frequent relapse:

• personal anxiety;
• low resistance to stress;
• depressive disorders;
• anxiety and tension;
• difficulties in social contacts.

For prevention and treatment, it is necessary to regulate the emotional state. There is no need to keep the storm inside, feelings are proportional to the circumstances, and their output should be uniform. You shouldn’t get hung up and blame yourself for all the cataclysms in the world. Look for benefits for yourself in current events, without delving into the shortcomings. Simple rules will help you achieve stability in your psychological and physical state, and illnesses will become a thing of the past.

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What is a cough and how does it manifest itself?

A cough in an adult is a protective reaction of the respiratory tract and the entire system as a whole to irritants. They can be both external and internal. When the action of coughing occurs, a person is freed from microorganisms, foreign particles and allergens that negatively affect the body and the state of the immune system. This happens as follows. Our brain receives a signal that there is a foreign body in the respiratory tract, microparticles that interfere with the ability to calmly perform the function of providing the organs with a sufficient amount of oxygen. After this determination, the laryngeal muscles receive a signal to perform an action such as contraction, which contributes to what people used to call a cough.

When inhaling, the bronchi, which are already in a state of spasm, interact with other systems, namely:

• larynx;
• neck;
• abdomen;
• pectoral muscles.

Everything helps to release the air out, but it happens with the appearance of noise, which people are used to calling a cough. Due to muscle contraction, the trachea significantly loses its usual volumes, which increases the speed of air coming out.

A phenomenon such as a dry cough is most often accompanied by:

• cold;
• allergic reactions;
• acute respiratory diseases.

But there are other reasons that can cause a similar anomaly in the human body. If you are coughing and have a sore throat, then you better read this article

Diagnostic methods

The study of psychosomatic cough is based on clinical examination and laboratory results.

During the appointment, the doctor listens to the patient’s complaints and prescribes a number of necessary measures aimed at excluding viral diseases of the respiratory system: chest x-ray, bronchomotor test, general urine and blood test, magnetic resonance imaging.

If the physiological nature of the cough is excluded, the patient is redirected to specialists of another profile: a neurologist or psychologist.

The examination of adults is based on listening to the patient’s complaints, identifying and systematizing individual somatoneurological symptoms (with the establishment of a leader), differential diagnosis and anamnesis of the disease.

For diagnostic purposes, a chest x-ray is performed

Psychological examination of children and adolescents, on the one hand, is subject to the general principles of clinical diagnosis, and on the other hand, it is distinguished by a number of features associated with the influence of the age factor: immaturity of self-knowledge and rudimentary nature of the child’s psyche. Personal, family and school history are added to the medical history: intra-family problems, type of upbringing, role positions of family members, features of adaptation among peers and school discipline are studied.

As a result of the study, the psychotherapist describes the patient’s mental status, makes a diagnosis, assesses the prognosis, prescribes therapy and a rehabilitation program, which the patient must adhere to until the symptoms of the disease completely disappear.

Psychosomatic manifestation of a runny nose as a phenomenon in children

In young children, psychosomatics manifests itself in the first days after visiting kindergarten, due to a change in an unusual lifestyle, separation from loved ones. Schoolchildren experience increased fatigue, fear of communicating with peers, fear of getting a bad grade, and criticism from others. In such a situation, children experience psycho-emotional depression.

The psychosomatics of a runny nose in children has been less studied. A feeling of loneliness due to a lack of parental affection and attention leads to such symptoms. During illness, the baby understands that he will be more caressed, cared for, cared for, and given enough attention. Sometimes the disease affects parents and older children, since conflicts fade into the background when a child falls ill. The child's body, as it were, gives a signal to attract parental attention. A runny nose is added to the symptoms of the underlying disease.

Fighting the disease without drugs

Psychotherapy is of utmost importance in the treatment of psychosomatic cough. The methods that specialists use to help patients can be different:

• Heart to heart conversations. Regular conversations with a counseling psychotherapist help sick people understand the problem and accept it. Understand what emotions are behind it in order to avoid them in the future. Self-talk or alternative options (such as journaling or drawing) can also be helpful.
• Hobby. Some new hobby successfully helps fight the disease. A favorite activity allows you to distract yourself, “unload” the nervous system from negative experiences, and “switch” to positive emotions and new goals.

An interesting hobby will help you overcome your cough faster

• Sport. Physical education classes have a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system. This could be yoga, fitness, aerobics, or even simple morning exercises and leisurely walks in the park.
• Positive attitudes. Louise Hay considers repetition of affirmations (statements) about a positive attitude towards life to be an effective method in the treatment of psychosomatic cough. Frequent repetition helps develop the habit of thinking positively.
• Medicinal plants. Medicinal plants have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. Mint, lemon balm, thyme and lemongrass are famous for their pronounced calming effect. Herbal mixtures can be added to tea or used to prepare healing infusions.

The duration of treatment is individual, ranging from several months to several years. And the result depends only on you. Be healthy!

Read more about psychosomatic cough below:

Is coughing good or bad? It’s good, because cough protects against bacteria, allergens, and other foreign particles trying to penetrate our body. Bad - constant coughing is exhausting, causes discomfort, wariness or disgust of others. Sometimes it is very difficult to determine the cause of such an unpleasant condition. All doctors' offices have already been completed, tests have been taken, and treatment has been prescribed aimed at relieving inflammatory processes in the body. But relief never comes. What's the matter? Experts in the field of psychology and bioenergy argue that the psychosomatics of cough lies in the psycho-emotional mood of a person.