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Key points
- Emotions usually affect what we report about our physical symptoms.
- The symptoms of medical illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, and seizures can be altered by emotions.
- Stress can trigger irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and increased blood pressure.
- Psychological issues can cause an incomplete response to medications for a physical ailment.
Emotions usually affect what we report about our physical symptoms. For example, if you have a headache, are you more likely to complain about it when you are scheduled to go to a romantic meal with your loved one or when your boss reminds you of an upcoming deadline? If your child has a mild stomachache, is he or she more likely to complain of it on a day when there is a test at school, which the child has been dreading, or on a day when the family is about to go to an exciting amusement park?
Emotions can even cause symptoms to appear. How many of us have developed a headache, stomachache, or chest pain during a stressful time? How many of us have shed tears of joy?
Stress has been shown to trigger irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and increased blood pressure (Wei, 2020). Thus, emotions can be a primary trigger of physical symptoms. The symptoms of medical illnesses, such as asthma, diabetes, and seizures, also can be altered by emotions. In this case, the emotions may be triggered because of how a patient responds psychologically to chronic symptoms (Anbar, 2014).
The involvement of emotions with physical symptoms accounts for the improvement in symptoms when patients learn to self-regulate better. For example, calming can help relieve abdominal discomfort, improve sleep, and decrease blood pressure. This is why the use of self-calming techniques, such as therapy with hypnosis, slow deep breathing, yoga, and learning how to think differently about life stressors, can lead to improved health.
There are many clues that suggest emotions may be related to physical symptoms (Anbar & Geisler, 2005):
Anxious appearance. When someone appears anxious or develops other emotional reactions before or after they develop worsening physical symptoms, then it is possible that their emotions are causing the symptom and likely that they are making the symptoms worse.
Dizziness. Dizziness can be the result of breathing too fast because of fear or being upset. Such emotions can make symptoms worse.
Feeling like something is stuck in the throat. A feeling that something may be stuck in the throat, or as if there is a lump in the throat (globus), often is the result of being anxious or overwhelmed.
Palpitations. A patient’s complaint that he or she can feel their heartbeat can be a mark of anxiety.
Shakiness. Shakiness or tremors sometimes occur because of the release of adrenaline during stressful times.
Tingling or numbness. Tingling or numbness, also called paresthesia, can occur in the arms, legs, or even the face and sometimes occur as a result of breathing too fast because of anxiety.
Absence of symptoms during sleep or when someone is distracted. Symptoms that are triggered by psychological stress often improve when the patient does not think about them. Conversely, focusing on such symptoms can make them worse.
Associated with a particular location or activity. If an activity causes stress, such as competition in a sport, taking a test, or a disagreement at work, any associated symptom could be induced by the stress.
One of my teenage patients developed hives on Wednesdays through Fridays in a particular classroom, and the family thought this was related to a build-up of toxins that might have been present in the room. They did not consider that it was math class, which my patient disliked tremendously, and that the students’ weekly quiz in that class was given on Fridays. Her hives resolved once she learned to calm herself with hypnosis.
Incomplete response to medications. A frequent reason that physical symptoms do not become much better with medications is that the symptoms are caused by psychological issues, at least in part.
Take-home message
It is important to emphasize that many serious medical illnesses present with symptoms and clues that are similar to the ones mentioned above. Therefore, a health care provider should always be consulted when significant physical symptoms arise.
Consider how emotions might play a role when you or your loved ones feel ill or uncomfortable, and discuss this possibility with your health care provider. In appropriate cases, instruction in self-calming techniques could be helpful and be associated with a reduction in the need for medical interventions.
Copyright Ran D. Anbar
References
Anbar, Ran D. (ed). 2014. “Functional Symptoms in Pediatric Disease: A Clinical Guide.” New York, NY: Springer.
Anbar, Ran D., Susan C. Geisler. 2005. “Identification of Children who may Benefit from Self-Hypnosis at a Pediatric Pulmonary Center. BMC Pediatrics. 5 (1): 6. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-5-6.
Wei, Dongtao, et al. 2020. “Brain Structures Associated With Individual Differences in Somatic Symptoms and Emotional Distress in a Healthy Sample.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 17;14:492990. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.492990.
