What to do if psychological stress becomes severe somatization

The first priority is to go to a regular hospital for a comprehensive examination of the corresponding symptoms to rule out the possibility of organic disease. After that, don’t just focus on treating the physical symptoms. The backlog of emotional stress must be dealt with simultaneously to relieve the root cause.

In the past few years I have been working as a psychological service provider in the community, I have come across quite a few cases of somatization. Last month, I received an operation girl from an Internet company. She suffered from migraine headaches for more than three consecutive months. The pain was so severe that she could not even see the screen. A brain CT and EEG did not find any problems. She took a lot of medicine and could only take it for two or three hours. After sitting down and chatting for half an hour, I found out that she had been ranked last in the department in KPI for six months in a row. She was afraid of being optimized and dared not tell her family. Even when she complained to her friends, she was afraid of being called hypocritical. She always cheered herself up, "I can get through it", but little did she know that her emotions came out of her body before she could hold them back.

Nowadays, many people have a deep misunderstanding of somatization. They either think that it is "pretending to be sick" or "too squeamish", or they focus on psychological problems first when they feel uncomfortable, and refuse to even undergo a physical examination. These two extremes are unacceptable. A middle school teacher came to me before and said that he had suffered from chronic pharyngitis for more than half a year and that he had taken countless throat lozenges and anti-inflammatory drugs to no avail. After talking with him, I discovered that every time he wanted to criticize a student, he was afraid of affecting his child's mood. You see, this is not a problem with the throat, it’s because the emotions have nowhere to go.

Nowadays, everyone has different views on somatization intervention methods. Some people think that long-term consultation is needed to dig out the knots in the subconscious mind, while others think that it does not need to be so troublesome. Pay more attention to relieving emotions and adjusting cognition, and you can slowly recover. In fact, there is really no need to worry about which method is "more correct". It depends on your own state. If the pain is so severe that you can't work, sleep, or even eat, don't rely on yourself to "try to get better". Go directly to the psychosomatic department or psychiatric department of a regular hospital for evaluation. If necessary, use some drugs to help relieve symptoms, and cooperate with psychological counseling at the same time. You can avoid a lot of unnecessary suffering. If the symptoms are not serious, but only occur occasionally and do not affect your normal life, you can keep more notes at ordinary times, such as carrying a small notebook with you. If you suddenly feel unwell one day, don't just write down "I have a headache today". By the way, write down what you were doing and thinking about just now, whether you were scolded by the boss or what happened suddenly. You have to repay the monthly mortgage, and you can figure out the pattern after two weeks. It turns out that you get a headache when you are anxious, and your stomach hurts when you feel wronged. If you have similar emotions next time, don’t hold it in, find a channel to vent it out, whether it is running around for two hours, singing songs for two hours, or complaining to your friends, it is better than keeping it in your heart.

To put it bluntly, it's like a clogged water pipe in your home. It's no use just wiping the water leaking on the ground. You have to clear the blockage in the water pipe. Those symptoms of headache, stomachache, and chest tightness are the leaked water. Your undigested stress and unspoken emotions are the blockage. No matter how diligently you wipe the water, if the blockage is blocked, sooner or later it will still leak.

Really, now everyone is used to being tense, even when they collapse, they have to choose a time and a place, and always say "I'm fine". Little do they know that the body is the last person to lie. It helps you save the pressure that you don't want to admit and the emotions that you don't want to release. When you can't store it anymore, it will come to you in various discomforts. Allow yourself to be softer occasionally, and don't always force yourself to be an invulnerable superman. Giving your emotions an outlet is more useful than taking any number of supplements.