Psychosomatics of throat diseases in adults and children

Throat diseases are among the most common in children and adults. Many people know the unpleasant feeling of stiffness and sore throat when trying to swallow or say something. Some people have throat health problems more often, others less often. Not always pain in the throat can be explained only by viruses or bacteria, sometimes they have a psychosomatic origin.

Throat as a concept in anatomy does not exist. It is used in speech to denote the part of the neck as far as possible from the spine, the anterior neck. The throat is a symbolic designation of a place that is at the same time the beginning of the esophagus and part of the airways. It allows a person to eat, reproduce sounds, breathe.

In addition, the throat is involved in immune function, it is in it that the lymphoid tissue is located, which inhibit the passage of dangerous viruses and bacteria into the airways.

It is in this part that a variety of diseases occur, for example, acute respiratory viral infections, flu, sore throat, pharyngitis, laryngitis, laryngotracheitis.

Common clinical symptoms include:

• fever;
• runny nose (optional);
• pain when swallowing, scratchy;
• headache;
• increased secretion of saliva;
• complete or partial lack of voice, hoarseness.

It is believed that in childhood the throat hurts more often due to the immaturity of immunity.

Psychosomatics treats diseases not only from the point of view of anatomical and physiological changes, but also in their close connection with the emotional and mental state of a person. This means that there are prerequisites that cause the development of the disease. Are throat problems always psychosomatic in nature? Of course not. The child was in contact with a sore throat and got infected - most likely, it is a matter of pathogenic bacteria, the throat got sore with ARVI - viruses are to blame.

On the psychosomatic origin indicates a frequent incidence, when the throat hurts with an enviable constancy. Highly often chronic pharyngitis or tonsillitis is precisely psychogenic in nature.

Also the psychosomatic origin of the disease is said if the prescribed treatment does not help and the disease either does not recede, or recedes for a short time and returns again.

How psychosomatic diseases develop is not very difficult to understand: certain emotions and feelings, attitudes that a person has, cause muscle spasm, tension, blood circulation in the area is disturbed. spasm, the conductivity of nerve impulses is changing, which creates a prerequisite for an inflammatory or other disease.

What are the psychological reasons can have a throat disease, tell below.

The throat, according to psychosomatics, is the part of the body that is responsible for self-expression. Please note that when a person has difficulty expressing himself, he is distinguished by heightened shyness, timidity, it is very difficult for him to speak publicly. As soon as the situation adds up in such a way that it is necessary to make it, a quite noticeable spasm in the throat appears, this is often described as “a lump in the throat”. It interferes with speaking, and sometimes does not allow and breathe normally.

Considering that several important functions are assigned to the throat at once (nutrition, respiration, immunity, voice), the psychosomatic of diseases of the throat is also quite complex. The most famous researchers offered various explanations for throat problems: Louise Hay claimed that people with sore throats have serious problems expressing their creative abilities, and Liz Burbo says that sore throats are a sign of dislike for oneself. The psychotherapist Valery Sinelnikov emphasizes that the throat symbolizes a person’s ability to stand up for himself, to express himself, his needs, ask for something that he needs.

Psychosomatic medicine is based on a large number of observations of specialized physicians and psychotherapists, who find common psychological prerequisites for a whole group of patients. This creates a psychological portrait of a classic patient with psychosomatic sore throat or pharyngitis.

A sore throat gives a person the opportunity to remain silent, to say nothing, not to answer, not to ask. In this way, the disease arises as a defense against severe stress, which a person experiences when necessary to tell the world about his needs, desires, intentions. At the subconscious level, a person is sure that a sore throat will relieve him of the need to speak, although the situation requires it, this is his alibi.

For example, people who are forced to work in an unloved job, live with an unloved person, often suffer from throat diseases. The fear of losing something important for them (money, stability, etc.) makes such a person silent, squeezing the words and emotions rushing outward. Is it any wonder that they often squeeze their throats?

People who often complain of sore throat have problems with self-actualization. They want something completely different, not what they are forced to do, they certainly have something to say to the world, but they don’t have enough courage to do it. Most often, they swallow insults and irritation, forcing themselves to be silent about their true feelings.

Anger and resentment tend to accumulate (like mucus in the throat), become inflamed (causing redness, cutting pain, inability to take a sip), strong negative emotions can cause swelling of the throat, and strong backed-up hatred causes severe pus inflammation.

There are quite a few researchers who are sure that throat diseases are often also peculiar to other people - the exact opposite of the psychological portrait described above. It is believed that excessively noisy, blatant, scandalous people, who admit a lot of obscene and dirty curses in their speech, more often than others suffer from inflammation of the throat. The psychology of the disease does not exclude that both are right.

In each case, the search for the causes of psychosomatic illness in an adult or in a child should be carried out taking into account individual traits of character and age.

It is believed that sore throat suggests that a person has a need to express himself, but either he or someone else, prevent him from doing so. People who do not want to change themselves often suffer from unpleasant tread, although they understand that the need for this has already matured. Difficult breaths are a symbol of the fact that a person has too few new goals, aspirations, but an inner need for them.

According to many researchers, the basis of the tread is the suppression of their true abilities.. It often happens that way, and this is especially noticeable in the example of children, that repressed talent leads to chronic diseases of the throat: the child has artistic abilities, draws well, but parents insist that the child engage in sports or music.

At the heart of this disease, researchers see accumulated irritation or even contempt for a certain person, a group of people, or for certain events. Laryngitis in childhood is more common than in adults, simply because it is harder for children to articulate what they feel, children cannot say everything, especially directly, in the eyes of adults.

Often suffering from frequent episodes of laryngitis - people who prefer not to interfere in the course of events. They see something that they are clearly not satisfied with, for example, injustice or cruelty towards others, but they can’t stand up in full voice and protest for the offended person - they are afraid.

Often people with laryngitis are dependent on public opinion, they are afraid of the prospect of being ridiculous. Often these people are kind and good, but just very polite, which imposes certain restrictions on what they consider permissible to speak out loud or silent.

The development of this disease usually results in a long-term dissatisfaction of a person with the world and the circumstances in which it exists. It is believed that the longer a child or an adult is in such circumstances, the more frequent manifestations of chronic pharyngitis may be.

Often, children try to “reach out” to adults with this disease - to pay attention to their needs., which they cannot ask for because of their age or fear of being refused.

The psychosomatic causes of angina are often rooted in events in which a person could not say the final word. I wanted to give up, but I was afraid to offend with refusal, as a result, a strong inflammation develops.

More often than not, trouble-free adults who do not know how to say "no" are ill, even if it hurts them.. Also, this disease is often found in people who work in groups, where their own opinion of employees, different from the opinion of management, is not welcome and is in every way suppressed.

There are families where the child does not have the right to speak at all, and the child simply cannot refuse to respond to any requirement of the mother or father. Any attempts to rebel are suppressed, parents believe that they know better than others that it will be useful to the child in fact. With a disease, the child is trying to postpone the onset of events that are not desirable for him., for example, the need to go to the unloved music school, in the classroom in which the parents insist with such zeal.

Most often, children suffer from adenoiditis because they do not know how to get rid of thoughts and feelings that are no longer needed, which can be considered obsolete, outdated. The less a child is ready to talk about them to adults, the more likely it is that he has inflammation of the adenoids.

Very often, adenoiditis is found in children whose parents are incredibly restless, worried about the health of the precious child and this anxiety is excessive, irrational.

Often, adenoids suffer babies whose parents very often quarrel.. A child cannot prevent a quarrel, he is too small, and therefore he feels that something unpleasant and terrible is approaching, but he cannot either talk about it or undertake anything for prevention.

Malignant neoplasms localized to the throat, usually suffer people who scornfully and aggressively treat others. They usually have a lot of insults and old “accounts”, they tremblingly keep all their offenses and even flaunt it “I remember everything, I did not forgive them for anything”. These people are selfish, embittered, very wounded. They want to insulate themselves from this imperfect world, they are not alien to pride.

Only one thing remains for the cells of the throat in such a situation - to behave like a master, selfishly and aggressively, this is exactly how a cancer cell is divided.

If a person turns to a psychotherapist or psychologist with the question of how to get rid of the frequent sore throat, if all the doctors have already passed, all the sprays and tablets have been tried, and nothing helps, then the following is strongly recommended.

• To reconsider what he does in his daily life - whether his profession suits him, his work, the team in which he works, whether he succeeds in translating his creative ideas into reality, whether he feels that he is doing his favorite thing. If there are negative answers, it is worth considering the possibility of changing work with a preliminary moment of “truth” - you will have to tell your superiors and colleagues all that has been silent and accumulated for so long.
• To learn how to control the accumulation and release of emotions - to understand that getting angry or not is only your decision, and it makes worse for you only for you, but not for those to whom it is directed.

• All unpleasant thoughts should be replaced with positive ones - in the end, everything that happens happens for your own good, even if it doesn’t seem so yet. Then the significance of the event will become apparent.
• In spite of your employment, try to devote at least some time to work on your dream business, your hobbies. Even if you throw everything and go headlong into self-realization does not work, be sure to find an occupation that you will like. In order not to be mistaken, check with what you liked to do as a child - usually this is exactly the thing that you should get back to in your free time to make your throat healthier.