Psychosomatic Disorders: What Mind-Body Disorders Are & Their Treatment Options

September 9, 2025

Authored by: Louise Hartnett, B.A.

Edited by: Emma Loker, B.S

We’re all familiar with the odd psychosomatic symptom, such as feeling our hands shake when we’re giving a presentation or becoming sweaty with nerves in the dentist’s office. These symptoms show how our minds and bodies are not separate entities; they often impact each other in very palpable ways.

While it’s normal to experience an occasional somatic symptom, psychosomatic issues can seriously impact someone’s daily life when stress isn’t acknowledged and managed effectively.

Further, a psychosomatic disorder can develop when mental distress causes physical illnesses or worsens symptoms. Typically, this distress is rooted in either traumatic experiences or high-pressure lifestyle factors. Both of these factors can be challenging to identify and recover from, calling for a multifaceted and holistic approach to treatment.

If you’re concerned that you have psychosomatic issues that are affecting your quality of life, a mental health professional can help. By getting to the root of physical issues and developing an effective treatment plan, coping with psychosomatic disorders is entirely possible. This guide can also clarify the phenomenon of mind-body disorders and the process of recovery by exploring:

What psychosomatic disorders are and their common symptoms
Causes of psychosomatic disorders
Diagnosing a psychosomatic disorder
Treatment options for healing from psychosomatic disorders
Self-care and coping mechanisms for psychosomatic disorders

What Are Psychosomatic Disorders?

A psychosomatic disorder occurs when mental stress causes physical illnesses or makes them worse.

Psychosomatic symptoms arise from interactions between different body systems, such as the central nervous, hormonal, and immune systems. This is because an excess of stress hormones, such as cortisol, can cause inflammation, harm the body, and prevent it from responding to immunity threats in a normal way.¹

Scientists used to believe that psychosomatic disorders were caused only by stress and psychological factors. However, it’s now recognized that all diseases have psychological, behavioral, and social causes – alongside physical ones.²

For example, we know that heart disease has biological causes like age and genetics, as well as behavioral ones like smoking and alcohol consumption. Stress, anxiety, and depression can also cause a fast and irregular heart rate. Plus, people who lack social support (such as a close loved one) are more at risk of having additional heart attacks.²

So, the modern view of psychosomatic conditions is that biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors converge to cause a disease. However, the role of each of these in a disease will vary person to person.² This means that you might only suffer psychosomatic symptoms that you’re predisposed to, and some people will likely benefit from holistic treatment that targets multiple causes.

When physical and mental health interact to create bodily symptoms, it’s referred to as “somatization.” In other words, somatization is the manifestation of psychological distress as physical symptoms.⁴

This distress could stem from a range of factors. For instance, both emotional suppression and childhood trauma have been connected to psychosomatic symptoms.² So, while one person’s symptoms may be due to unresolved trauma, another person’s could be caused by a mind-body disconnect. We’ll explore causes in more detail later, after exploring common psychosomatic symptoms.

Common Psychosomatic Symptoms

Psychosomatic disorder symptoms can vary, showing up differently from person to person and in many body systems. Therefore, stress-related physical symptoms can be confusing for those who have them. In fact, up to 20% of people who seek primary care appointments might have symptoms caused only by psychological factors.⁴

Commonly reported psychosomatic symptoms include persistent pain, digestive issues, and breathing difficulties.1 However, people also report:⁴

Chest pain
Fatigue
Dizziness
Headaches
Back pain
Shortness of breath
Insomnia
Abdominal pain
Numbness
Impotence
Weight loss
Cough
Constipation

On top of these physical symptoms, people may become highly anxious about being unwell, confused about the cause, and frustrated by not getting a diagnosis. The key to relieving distress is determining the root cause of somatic issues, which we’ll explore next.

Potential Causes of Psychosomatic Symptoms

Psychosomatic symptoms are thought to be caused by things like chronic stress, anxiety, and emotional distress.¹ The symptoms occur through a combination of both biological and psychological processes, such as the following.

Biologically, stress causes our bodies to produce hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, as well as inflammatory signals. If our adrenaline levels are high for a long time, we can develop hypertension, stomach ulcers, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).²

Additionally, inflammatory signals can cause our brain, vagus nerve, and immune cells to impact our sleep, pain perception, moods, and energy levels. Both chronic stress and early life adversity have been linked to consistently high levels of inflammatory signals. Therefore, people with these experiences may be more susceptible to these symptoms.⁹

In terms of psychological processes, most theories center around repression. For instance, the psychoanalytic field connects psychosomatic symptoms to childhood trauma and the subsequent disruptions to emotional development that this can cause. Chronic pain and chronic digestive conditions, in particular, have been associated with trauma in early life.²

Other theories about psychosomatic symptoms focus on repression in daily life. The idea is that when there’s a conflict between our will (what we’d like to do) and our volition (our decision whether to act), emotions like anger can arise. For example, we may wish to lash out at a coworker who belittles us, but decide to say nothing. Our anger then has nowhere to go and is suppressed, but our bodies still have to cope with this emotion.²

Getting a Psychosomatic Diagnosis

It’s important to determine whether certain symptoms are psychosomatic or not. For instance, chest pain could be due to stress, or it could indicate a serious heart problem needing quick intervention.⁴

When you visit your doctor about your symptoms, they’ll first conduct physical exams and tests to determine if you have any physical health conditions that need treatment.¹⁰ They must rule out all physical health conditions before diagnosing you with a psychosomatic disorder.

If there are no underlying medical causes for symptoms, doctors usually give one of the following explanations to clarify the process behind psychosomatic issues:⁵

Multisystem stress: This is the idea that our sympathetic nervous systems become activated when perceiving a threat and that this impacts multiple systems in the body. The body will become overloaded if it’s activated for too long.
A sensitive alarm system: This is the idea that our brains reduce the threshold for perceiving threats and get set off by minor triggers, causing a chronic state of stress.
Embodied emotions and trauma: This idea suggests that trauma, pain, and unexpressed emotion are stored in the body.

When you’re diagnosed with a psychosomatic disorder, you may feel a mixture of emotions. Some people will feel relieved to have an explanation, while others are afraid they’ll be called “mad.” Plus, some people won’t know exactly where their stress is coming from, which can make accepting their diagnosis difficult.⁴

It’s natural to feel nervous and frustrated by a psychosomatic diagnosis. Truthfully, physical health issues are often easier to solve than mental health conditions, sometimes being quickly resolved with medication. In contrast, if someone’s symptoms are caused by some extremely painful trauma, this can take years to heal.⁴ Though the process can be daunting, it’s the first step towards finding treatment that works.

Psychosomatic Illness Treatment

There are many treatment options for psychosomatic disorders, each with its own approach. You may decide to seek out a psychosomatic disorder treatment program, which will involve multiple different approaches. Commonly used evidence-based approaches for psychosomatic illness treatment include the following.

Somatic Therapy

Otherwise known as “mind-body therapy,” this type of therapy focuses on the mind-body connection. Somatic therapy believes we can learn about our inner worlds by increasing somatic awareness. It may be the first step in looking inward and allowing repressed emotions to surface.⁶

Practitioners of mind-body therapies typically use talk therapy, relaxation techniques, and exercises to release pent-up tension and increase body awareness. They’ll also likely help you focus on bodily sensations when talking about or remembering painful things.⁶

Somatic therapy can be used to treat those with trauma, stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and sexual dysfunction. Plus, it can be used in conjunction with other treatments to address chronic pain and digestive disorders.⁶

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT aims to help people explore the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are driving their stress and worsening their symptoms. It focuses on “retraining” the brain to manage these things differently so that people can reduce the stress in their lives. Therefore, it may be most useful for people with perfectionist tendencies or high-stress lifestyles, as these involve concrete behaviors that can be changed.¹¹

Plus, CBT also teaches strategies to recognize and relax the threat response, and may potentially involve exposure to activities someone has avoided out of anxiety.⁵

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychotherapy for psychosomatic disorders, such as psychodynamic therapy, is longer-term than CBT and involves more in-depth reflection. For instance, psychodynamic therapists will likely be interested in your childhood experiences and how these are impacting the present moment. They’ll also help you describe your emotional states more accurately and build a sense of safety within your own selfhood, which is intrinsic to somatic regulation.¹²

Self-Care for Psychosomatic Symptoms

Alongside mental health counseling, coping with psychosomatic disorders may also involve medication and self-care strategies. Your daily routine and relationships often impact both mental wellness and psychosomatic health, making them valuable areas to focus on when planning your recovery.

Many people with psychosomatic symptoms might have coped on their own for a long time, developing their own self-care strategies. However, it can still be useful to outline general guidelines for well-being, such as:

Prioritizing getting much-needed rest
Eating foods that promote well-being and don’t cause inflammation
Stepping back from toxic relationships and major sources of stress in life
Allowing yourself time to process difficult emotions and being kind to yourself
Engaging in physical activities that you find enjoyable

In terms of physical activity, you may be interested in trying yoga, qi gong, or tai chi, as these are commonly used in somatic therapy.⁷ And finally, somatic therapy also commonly uses a technique known as “progressive muscle relaxation,” and this can be implemented at home. This technique involves tensing and relaxing different body parts to promote relaxation and calm.7

Mission Connection: Therapy for Psychosomatic Disorders

At Mission Connection, we understand how important it is to receive personalized care, which is why we tailor your therapy to suit your unique needs and goals. Across our services, you can access both in-person and online psychotherapy, treatment for trauma, CBT, and group therapy.

When a psychosomatic disorder is impacting every aspect of your life, you may feel like there are no further avenues you can explore to find relief. This is where our team can help, ensuring that you are supported in both compassionate and effective ways. Get in touch today to learn more about our treatment options.

References

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