Psychosomatics

How to suspect psychosomatics

• Doctors have ruled out an obvious organic cause, but the symptom remains.
• Treatment helps, yet the condition keeps returning.
• A flare-up occurs in a particular life situation or around certain people.
• The symptom disappears after a change of environment and returns when the person goes back.
• The first episode followed intense stress, conflict, fear, resentment, or a major life change.

This does not mean medical diagnosis is no longer necessary. Infections, deficiencies, cancer, and other organic causes must be ruled out first. Painhunting does not replace medical care and can be used alongside treatment.

Psychosomatics is not limited to one organ

A psychological component may be found in digestive, nervous-system and sleep problems, urological and respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal pain, recurring ENT problems, vision difficulties, allergic reactions, and other physical symptoms.

The same diagnosis does not mean the same cause. We do not assign a ready-made emotion to each organ. One person’s asthma may be linked to resentment; another person’s may involve pressure, fear, or a completely different event.

How we find the individual cause

Sometimes chronology reveals the link: the person remembers that the symptom began after a conflict, move, or difficult situation. When the connection is unclear, a painhunter uses subconscious imagery and bodily associations. For example, the person may be asked to imagine what is pressing on the chest. An unexpected answer can point to a real person or event.

Sometimes the specialist offers a possible hypothesis—for example, asking whether recurring sinusitis could be connected with suppressed tears. It is not a ready-made diagnosis. The idea is only used as a clue and remains relevant only if it genuinely resonates with the client.

It is more common than it seems

A systematic review found that at least one physical symptom without a medical explanation was reported by 40–49% of primary-care patients. This does not automatically prove psychosomatics, but it shows how often a physical symptom needs a broader view. Source: systematic review of 32 studies.

If you want to understand how psychosomatics may relate to your condition, browse the Painhunting problem catalog and choose a concern to explore.

What happens after the cause is found

In the Painhunting method, the client moves between two opposite inner realities: the reality in which the tension and symptom were formed, and an alternative reality in which events unfolded differently, safety appeared, or the body could relax.

Repeated switching between these realities gradually reduces the emotional charge of negative feelings, images, and thoughts. The physical response may weaken with them because the body no longer needs to repeat the old pattern.

Two cases from practice

A cold allergy that was connected with more than cold

A woman had taken antihistamines for many years because cold triggered severe itching on her hands, face, and body. The first episode was traced to moving at age ten from her grandmother’s warm home to her mother’s cold house. Her mother also constantly made her clean and dust. The subconscious formed the equation: “cold—mother makes me—dust—irritation.”

While working through the realities “stayed with grandmother in the warm house—moved to mother’s cold house,” the itching first intensified and then disappeared within about an hour. According to the client, the allergy did not return and she no longer needed antihistamines.

Asthma and long-held resentment

Another client had been monitored for asthma for six years and always carried an inhaler. The work uncovered intense resentment toward her husband after infidelity. She re-experienced the opposite realities “husband cheated—husband did not cheat” to release the emotional charge.

According to her, the attacks stopped. Three years later she said the asthma had never returned.

These are individual practice cases, not a guarantee of the same outcome for everyone.

How many sessions are needed

Milder cases usually take 1–3 sessions; serious and long-standing cases generally take around 3–10. The cause often becomes clearer during the first session. Based on practitioners’ observations, initial relief may be around 10–15% in a difficult case and 50–100% in a mild case. Results depend on the person’s condition, the depth of the cause, and medical factors.

If nothing can be identified or worked through and no result is achieved during a session, we generally do not charge for that session.

If a person has cancer

People sometimes recall that diagnosis was preceded by severe stress, deep resentment, betrayal, fear, or a destructive inner belief. Painhunting explores and works through these experiences so they no longer keep the person in constant inner tension.

This work is performed only alongside medical treatment. Painhunting does not replace an oncologist or cancel tests, medication, or any medical prescription.

Important

Do not stop medication or change treatment on your own, even if you feel better after a session. Medical decisions must be made by your treating doctor. Seek medical care first for an acute or rapidly worsening condition.