Bronchial asthma is a multifactorial pathology, most often due to the interaction of several components (allergies, infectious agents and psychological factors). Psychosomatics is a direction at the junction of classical medicine and psychology, which studies the occurrence and development of somatic diseases for psychological reasons. Many diseases, and asthma among them, are associated with the psycho-emotional state of a person. Psychosomatics of asthma is caused by the action of emotional factors: fears, anxiety states, stress.

Nervous asthma

Bronchial asthma can be the result of allergic reactions, inhalation of excessively cold or dusty air, tobacco smoke, the presence of chronic infectious foci in the respiratory tract. Sometimes seizures develop as a response to stress, but not every stressful situation leads to an attack. Asthma begins to develop if a person experiences strong negative emotions, is in an unstable atmosphere for a long time.

Bronchial asthma can develop on a nervous basis in such cases:

• in early childhood, the cause of the development of the disease may be the appearance of another child, especially if he is older, and all attention was previously paid to him;
• in puberty, many adolescents are not immediately able to get used to the changes taking place in their body, the play of hormones causes various deviations in the emotional background, high anxiety, anxiety associated with puberty, inability to cope with negativity or the inability to share problems, can cause seizures suffocation;
• in childhood and adolescence, asthmatic attacks can be triggered by parental divorce or their constant arguments, quarrels, a cold or overly tense family environment;
• young people often worry about a future marriage, separation from their parents, or, conversely, from personal disorder, and sometimes excessively strong feelings provoke the development of this serious illness;
• in an adult, bronchial asthma can also begin against the background of divorce, family conflicts, a difficult financial situation, professional or social lack of fulfillment.

Emotions that trigger an asthma attack

An asthma attack is characterized by difficulty breathing. It develops as a reaction to inhalation of a substance or to a negative emotional state. The body tries to point out to a person any psychological problems, using a rather harsh method for this. Difficulty exhaling may indicate that a person only knows how to take (inhale) and does not want to give, share (exhale). Also, an asthma attack can be triggered by the fact that a person is anxious, afraid to live and breathe deeply.

Asthma can be caused by the inability of a person to get rid of the burden of negative emotions. This also explains the fact, long noticed by psychologists, that asthma develops for psychological reasons in people of a certain type. As a rule, people who suffer from bronchial asthma are overly emotional, deeply experiencing the events of their lives, subject to stressful conditions. If a person at the same time does not know how to “dump” the negative, for example, through tears or in other ways, he may begin a severe chronic pathology of the respiratory tract, manifested by attacks of suffocation.

If the disease is predominantly of an allergic origin, then this may indicate some emotional problems. There is a theory that allergy develops as a person’s reaction to any events in life. This disease indicates that a person cannot stand something, cannot accept. A person is not able to express his protest due to the peculiarities of character, upbringing, because he is in captivity of stereotypes or is overly dependent on the opinions of other people. Ignoring, pushing inside experiences leads to the development of an inflammatory process in the respiratory tract.

Features of psychosomatics of asthma in children

The psychosomatics of bronchial asthma in children may be due to the impact of an unfavorable emotional situation in the family or difficulties in relations with relatives, especially with the mother. In some cases, the baby experiences a negative impact even in the prenatal period, for example, if the baby is unwanted, or the mother is in a state of permanent stress during pregnancy.

The first thing a child does when he is born is to learn to breathe. The first cry of a baby is a call to the mother, a request for protection and help. According to one of the theories, bronchial asthma develops as a reaction to the child’s wrong relationship with the mother, lack of care and warmth. In infancy, a person screaming and crying makes it clear to the mother that he needs her attention, that he needs help. If he doesn’t get what he asks for, worry and anxiety remain with him for life. In the future, attacks of crying children are replaced by asthmatic attacks. Thus, the psychosomatics of the disease is due to the fact that in childhood a person did not have a correct relationship with his mother, he experiences a lack of love, a lack of mutual understanding throughout his adult life.

The opposite situation is also possible: asthma often develops in children who are overprotected, crushed with care. The emotional state of such a child, as a rule, is also not stable.

How to recover from a disease

Asthma is a classic psychosomatic disorder and psychotherapy is used to treat it. Courses with a psychotherapist help the patient to cope more successfully with the influence of external factors that provoke stressful conditions, to learn how to properly release emotions. With the help of psychotherapy, you can correct various disorders of the emotional background.

For patients with asthma of psychosomatic origin, both individual and group psychotherapy sessions are recommended. Such treatment helps them overcome withdrawal, reduce anxiety, and suppress fears. The specialist teaches the patient to properly respond to various emotionally difficult situations. In group lessons, various methods are used: asthmatics are treated with auto-training, breathing exercises, functional relaxation training.

It is very important for such patients to establish relationships in the family: parents, spouses, children. If the negative emotional situation at home persists, it will be more difficult for the patient to overcome the disease, to reduce the number and intensity of attacks. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct sessions with a psychologist or psychotherapist for other members of the asthmatic family. This is the only way to get rid of conflicts and restore a stable positive atmosphere in the house.

Also, asthmatics are recommended several times a year to undergo treatment at resorts with mountain and sea air. This not only has a beneficial effect on the state of the respiratory system, but also helps to stabilize the emotional background.