Knowra Psychosomatic medicine Psychosomatic medicine Psychosomatic medicine examines how psychological, social, and biological factors interact in health and illness. It integrates these influences into assessment and treatment rather than treating mind and body as separate.
Stress response : A coordinated set of neural, hormonal, and behavioral changes that helps the body respond to demands or threats. Psychosomatic medicine studies how prolonged stress responses can affect symptoms and disease.
Biopsychosocial model : A framework that explains health and illness through interacting biological, psychological, and social factors. It provides a practical framework for psychosomatic assessment and treatment.
Hysteria : A historical diagnosis for varied symptoms, often neurological, that lacked an identified physical explanation. The contested history of this diagnosis shaped early attempts to link emotion and bodily symptoms.
Biomedicine : The study and treatment of health and disease through biological mechanisms and biomedical methods. Psychosomatic medicine broadens biological explanations by incorporating psychological and social influences.
Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis : A hormonal signaling system linking the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands. It is one pathway through which psychological stress can influence bodily processes.
Functional neurological disorder : A neurological condition involving genuine changes in movement or sensation that are not explained by recognized structural disease. Its diagnosis and care often require attention to interacting biological and psychological factors.
Franz Alexander : A psychoanalyst who developed influential mid-twentieth-century theories linking emotional conflicts to physical disorders. His work helped establish psychosomatic medicine as a clinical and theoretical field.
Mind–body dualism : The philosophical view that mind and body are distinct kinds of substance or reality. Psychosomatic medicine challenges clinical assumptions that mental and bodily processes are independent.
Autonomic nervous system : The part of the nervous system that regulates involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, and breathing. Its activity connects emotional states with changes in bodily function.
Irritable bowel syndrome : A disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain associated with changes in bowel habits. Brain–gut interactions are central to understanding symptoms and treatment.
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