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The first thing to consider when you have apparent physiological problems, is that you have a physical problem (a problem with your body).  You want to have this checked out by a doctor.  Even in cases where many doctors think that the problem is psychological, a significant percentage of case are actually a physiological problem.

Now, there are also a number of cases that have a psychological component.  That doesn’t mean that the pain or the symptom is not “real.”  Because it certainly is—all symptoms are experienced in the mind.  If your finger is cut, it feels like it is in your finger where the pain is, but it is actually ‘felt’ in your mind.  Pain signals are sent from the site of the injury to the brain.

It’s been estimated that up to 90% of doctor’s visits are for difficulties that have a psychological component.¹  Perhaps that’s a bit misleading, because of the strong link between the mind and the body.

When I first started graduate school, I noticed that every break I had, I got sick!  There are different theories as to why this happens.  But I found the most important component was my thinking.  Now that’s odd isn’t it?  Now, during the time of year when people have more of the flu, colds, etc.. (winter), we all notice when others are sniffling, coughing, and blowing their noses.  We think, “I hope I don’t get that.”  But, we end up getting it anyway, a lot of the time.  Oddly, as long as I thought, “I don’t have time to get sick,” and as long as it was actually true, I did not get sick.  At times, an illness can perform a function.  Such as a severe cold may force you to rest more than you would otherwise.  You may have a personality type where you don’t rest enough, but if you are forced to rest, you will.

Now, another notion is that aspects of immune system activity may increase under stress, but then crashes after the stress is gone (I’ve simplified this greatly).  This increases our susceptibility to infections of various types.  One study found that Olympic athletes are more likely to become ill in the period after the competition is over.  Studies have shown that the immune response tends to crash for these individuals after the competition is over.  So there is a mind component, but there is also a body component to this.  They are intimately linked.

There is a branch of psychology called, Psychoneuroimmunology.²  This is a branch that investigates the relationship between psychological variables, neurological variables, and immunological variables.  It’s a fascinating field of study, and there is much to learn about the relationship between the mind and the body.  We are only beginning to scratch the surface with our understanding.

¹ http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/f/psychosomatic.htm
² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoneuroimmunology