We have more and more research indicating there being changes in the brain with chronic pain. In particular, an area of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex has been implicated with somatic symptom disorder. Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) can be many different symptoms in the body without a structural cause. It’s primarily what I diagnose […]
One of the things I thing is very important from a mind-body perspective to healing is parlaying hope into want and desire for change then moving to will to make it happen. Will is an important mind-body construct. There is research to show it impacts health. Here is a study showing how the will to […]
We’ve come a long way in understanding chronic pain and how the brain shapes pain in ways we never knew before. The amygdala, which is the emotional generating and processing part of the brain, is now understood to be implicated as a driving force in pain conditions that become persistent. I see this in my […]
I want to share a large study (over 50,000 people) that highlights the link between anxiety and depression and somatic symptoms in the body. I treat a lot of unexplained physical symptoms that are purely the physical manifestation of anxiety and depression showing up in the body. Here’s a recap of some of the information […]
In my work of treating chronic health issues, I focus on areas that most traditional medical professionals fail to look at. These are the psycho-social areas, which relate to the brain and nervous system and how they contribute to somatic symptoms. We know as the researchers state in this paper : “Among the psychosocial factors, […]
“A total of 248 college students participated in the daily diary study. Daily stressors, daily hurt feelings, and rejection sensitivity predicted somatic symptoms. Rejection sensitivity also moderated the association of stressors to somatic symptoms such that more stressors and high rejection sensitivity predicted more somatic symptoms. The findings collectively highlight the importance of supporting individuals […]
Fibromyalgia is one of the conditions we can look as a part of a broader group of symptoms that are considered central sensitivity syndromes. Others are IBS, chronic fataigue, tension headaches, TMJ, etc. These group of symptoms have been shown to have brain and nervous system components to them and are areas I address in […]
The power of the nocebo (opposite the placebo) is real in causing elevated physical symptoms in the body. This brain mechanism is a part of the focus point in the treatment of mind-body health disorders. This quote from a research article caught my eye. ‘It is estimated that up to 97% of reported pharmaceutical side […]
Wanted to share this study that looked at the relationship between our emotions and somatic symptom disorder (SSD). A lot of what I treat are people who present with SSD- meaning there is nothing physically wrong in the body, but they are still having a lot of physical symptoms in the body. These symptoms come […]
One of the things I see in a lot of people I work with is a difficulty in letting go. Letting go of our bodies and its tension, tightness, stiffness, guarding, and protection. Letting go of our minds and its beliefs, stresses, reactions, resentments, and mental resistances. And finally letting go of what arises in […]
