Psychologizing physical problems

[consentingadult]

You probably heard or seen it before: you go to the doctor with some vague symptoms of an illness, they can't find anything and conclude it is all in between the ears, probably caused by stress. The professional term for that 'Somatization'.

This happened to me too in the past year, when I started having pains in the chest. Ultimately it turned out that I had some form of esophageal spasm. It was very frustrating to be given verbal and non-verbal signs that my discomfort probably was caused by stress, and I am still sort of angry about the ease with which doctors pass that judgement.

Anyway, the whole thing got me thing about somatization from a Socionics perspective. I have always known myself that my psychological discomforts could translate into physical discomfort. Stress, especially social stress, translate into tight muscles. But I was always aware of the psychological cause.

As I am getting older, I inevitably am more affected by minor physical ailments. Now here comes the clue: I have a tendency to ignore the physical roots of these ailments and threat them as if they were psychological problems. So when I have an upset stomach, I get sort of depressed and get stuck in a search for a behavioral solution, when in fact all I need is a glass of milk or a Tums. recently I am become more and more aware of this. As I just told me SEI GF, she replied that such is how she knows me.

People do not only somatize their psychological issues, they also psychologize their physical issues. And somehow I think this is type-correlated.

And while I am writing this, I have a feeling of deja-vu: haven't we been discussing this before?

[Aramas]

Yeah. If I haven't eaten, I can spiral off into a really bad mood really fast. Once I eat, the clouds suddenly disappear. Kinda odd.

[consentingadult]

Yeah. If I haven't eaten, I can spiral off into a really bad mood really fast. Once I eat, the clouds suddenly disappear. Kinda odd.

Last August I heard my LDL cholesterol is very high (5.5), it's in the family, most of it has not to do with my lifestyle according to my doctor. She'd be surprised if I get it down to 3. To avoid having to take statins, I have given myself a year to change my lifestyle and bring the cholesterol down as much as possible, less alcohol, fatty foods, copious amounts etc. Lost 6 kg in the process already, and in some ways I feel better because all of that, but I can no longer snack to drive those clouds away, which used to work like a charm. I have not so much problems with eating better food or less amounts, the biggest problem is that I can no longer fight off my demons by eating a chunk of cheese! To prevent me from snacking cheese, the only substance I have a hard time restraining myself with, my GF agreed to keep the slices of cheese in the freezer!

I have to learn to cope with bad moods in a different way now. I don't know where this is going, but I have noticed becoming somewhat sexually more 'aggressive' lately.

[Aramas]

Last August I heard my LDL cholesterol is very high (5.5), it's in the family, most of it has not to do with my lifestyle according to my doctor. She'd be surprised if I get it down to 3. To avoid having to take statins, I have given myself a year to change my lifestyle and bring the cholesterol down as much as possible, less alcohol, fatty foods, copious amounts etc. Lost 6 kg in the process already, and in some ways I feel better because all of that, but I can no longer snack to drive those clouds away, which used to work like a charm. I have not so much problems with eating better food or less amounts, the biggest problem is that I can no longer fight off my demons by eating a chunk of cheese! To prevent me from snacking cheese, the only substance I have a hard time restraining myself with, my GF agreed to keep the slices of cheese in the freezer!

I have to learn to cope with bad moods in a different way now. I don't know where this is going, but I have noticed becoming somewhat sexually more 'aggressive' lately.

Meditation can help. A lot of bad moods come from tension or some sense of frustration. Meditation can help decrease muscular tension etc. It has helped me some.

Fat free protein might not exacerbate your cholesterol. There's also fish. There's also plant protein like nuts and cashews. Check out different options to see if any might help with your cholesterol. I've never had mine checked before but I eat healthy usually. At least by my own definition. My main thing is low sugar. I don't eat much of that stuff.

[consentingadult]

Meditation can help. A lot of bad moods come from tension or some sense of frustration. Meditation can help decrease muscular tension etc. It has helped me some.

Fat free protein might not exacerbate your cholesterol. There's also fish. There's also plant protein like nuts and cashews. Check out different options to see if any might help with your cholesterol. I've never had mine checked before but I eat healthy usually. At least by my own definition. My main thing is low sugar. I don't eat much of that stuff.

I vape CBD shenever I'm tense, works like a charm.

This is how I eat nowadays: in the morning, I start with about 60 grams of nuts, a banana, some other piece of fruit and about 200 grams of fat free french cottage cheese (high in protein indeed). Two times a week fat fish, such as herring or mackarel. No snacking, except for special occasions, such as parties. Overall healthy nutritious foods (but that is not new to me), less condiment sauces such as ketchup, using a vegan alternative to mayo.

The majority of cholesterol reduction has to come from weight loss. I'm heading for 90 kg, by official standards my weight should go to 86 kg for a proper BMI, but at that weight I probably look like someone starving in a concentration camp.

By the way, one of our universities has developed a tool that shows the statistical effects of statins on heart-disease life expectancy. If I start now at age 53 taking statins, the expectancy is 83.9 years. If I don't, it will go down to just 83 years. So just to live about a year longer, I have to take 30 years of medication, causing side effects and decreasing my quality of life! Not even to mention that there are high chances of dying from something else before I reachh 83. There many family doctors in the Netherlands who think cardiologists have taken things too far with statins, looking only at the statitical benefits while ignoring other aspects.

[Aramas]

I vape CBD shenever I'm tense, works like a charm.

This is how I eat nowadays: in the morning, I start with about 60 grams of nuts, a banana, some other piece of fruit and about 200 grams of fat free french cottage cheese (high in protein indeed). Two times a week fat fish, such as herring or mackarel. No snacking, except for special occasions, such as parties. Overall healthy nutritious foods (but that is not new to me), less condiment sauces such as ketchup, using a vegan alternative to mayo.

The majority of cholesterol reduction has to come from weight loss. I'm heading for 90 kg, by official standards my weight should go to 86 kg for a proper BMI, but at that weight I probably look like someone starving in a concentration camp.

By the way, one of our universities has developed a tool that shows the statistical effects of statins on heart-disease life expectancy. If I start now at age 53 taking statins, the expectancy is 83.9 years. If I don't, it will go down to just 83 years. So just to live about a year longer, I have to take 30 years of medication, causing side effects and decreasing my quality of life! Not even to mention that there are high chances of dying from something else before I reachh 83. There many family doctors in the Netherlands who think cardiologists have taken things too far with statins, looking only at the statitical benefits while ignoring other aspects.

Some research apparently shows that statins promote heart failure. The cure is worse than the disease in this case.

[Hot Scalding Gayser]

Well there are a lot of shitty doctors that have no intention to get to the root cause of what is really wrong with you. They'd rather just blame you and say 'it's just stress' and then go live in their own narcissistic world. Of course you are going to be stressed having to go to the doctor for something that you don't know what the fuck it is and it's scaring you. of course anybody is going to be 'stressed' in that situation it doesn't mean stress causes those things, it's the other way around really... lol. As just think of like when you were in school or something way back having to do something you don't like, your body felt fine but you were still emotionally stressed out. The anxiety or stress didn't cause physical things to happen to you- it's just different. 'the mind body connection' sounds like some BS thing some new age writer wrote to get naive ppl to spend money on their shitty books. The physical world is physical and the mental world is mental.

A bunch of doctors in my area recently got in trouble with the FBI for making up patients that didn't exist and then prescribing meds to those fake patients for money.

I had to go like three diff docs before I finally found one that was able to help me with my headaches. Sadly I couldn't keep going to the doctor that was actually able to help me tho cuz he doesn't take my insurance anymore, the health system is fucked up.

Thankfully my health has been improving as I control what I eat a lot better now and I move around more. I hate exercising and doing this stuff ugh but I am proud of myself for doing it.

You are more understandably stressed when there is something physically going on because even if you are a very sensitive or high feeling type it's easy to go 'ehh this is just my feelings' and shrug it off but if you are suddenly paralyzed via the neck down because a horse threw itself off of you... then okay yeah. Try to think about Oprah and Vagina Jade Eggs and instantly heal your body using the power of positive thinking! It ain't gonna happen. It's just something shitty that heartless and careless people say, I'm sorry. I'm glad u were able to find somebody that actually was able to help u tho.

((being positive and calm and and happy is still good for you but not really in the narcissistic way most spoiled Americans think))

[sbbds]

Yeah the doctors are right in that the main cause for many things is stress, but the cause of stress is also physical many times, and it’s part of the doctor’s fucking job to figure that out and make it go away. They are shirking their responsibilities. Find another doctor if that’s the case.

[consentingadult]

I would understand when doctors simply admit that they do not know. But I have never heard them say such a thing, when they don't know, they often blame it on stress. To me that sounds like blaming the victim.

One thing that I have learned the past year, is that all kinds of sociological laws also apply to the medical profession: once a social construction has been established, even without any kind of scientific evidence in favor or contra, it is hard to get it changed as new insights arrive.

[timber]

Sometimes there is a mental component to things, so its probably your wisdom to look there first.

[timber]

About Si types like SEI being the most naturally healthy.

I would have to question that logic. They might be satiated and plump, but often overweight and with vices about food and drink and lifestyle.

[Rusal]

About Si types like SEI being the most naturally healthy.

I would have to question that logic. They might be satiated and plump, but often overweight and with vices about food and drink and lifestyle.

I’ll add my two cents.

The advantage a Si base type might have over others is not that they never indulge in unhealthy habits, but that they are more naturally able to correct them or have an inability to take them to the extreme. This becomes more obvious as they age.

So a casual smoker in their 20s smoking an avarage of 1 cigarette a day fast-forward that 10 years and he’s still smoking the same cigarette or maybe 2 or 3. He never become a heavy smoker or it’s taking him longer to get there bacause his body’s susceptibility won’t allow it.

You can’t stress your body for long, you’re not like some other people whom you know who are able to smoke non-stop or be obese and still somehow be able to keep going and going (more related to Se and willpower? idk).

[consentingadult]

As to me working out: I work as a chef, walking miles each day. But apart from that, I also usually cycle to work (1 to 1.5 hours each day), do grocery shopping by bicycle, ride across town by bicycle going places (that's faster than going by car, which you can't park anyways), or just regularly ride my bycicle (one of the two actually, for I also have a racing bicycle which I use practically every day) for fun. Exercise can always be better, but right now isn't where the majority of gains can be made.

As to your other suggestions, either I have been doing that for most of my life, or I have just started it.

[timber]

Just trust yourself then

There is wisdom there.

Do you partake is marijuana? Sometimes its great for dropping the meta and revealing the physical in small doses.

~oh my shoes are to tight.
~wow my house is a mess
~im craving x
~ect.

[timber]

Missed the first part about Drs not listening to you.

You have universal health care? Use the f*k out of it. Advocate for yourself. Don't take no for an answer. It's your body and if you think there is an issue there probably is. It's free so keep going back.

I had to spend nearly 9g last year in the states because I wasn't satisfied with the help I was getting here over an issue.

Just because someone is an authority doesn't mean they have the authority.

[remiges]

When I first read this, I admit I thought it was a little off.

But what do you know? Been really feeling physically ill for the last month, and something changed recently, right at the same time as a major issue in my life got resolved... Huh.

May I ask what your original hypothesis was?