Which psychosomatic conditions are you prone to?
You have probably often heard the phrase that all illnesses come from nerves. In reality, there is a certain range of conditions that can develop for psychological reasons (stomach ulcers, headaches, cardiovascular disease, etc.). These conditions are called psychosomatic because their cause lies in a person's psyche. Therefore, identifying a tendency toward one or another type of condition can help a person address the psychological factors that may trigger it. This can help a person become not only psychologically healthier but also feel better physically.
To date, researchers have proposed more than 20 theories about the development of psychosomatic conditions. For example, psychoanalysis focuses on unconscious conflict. Cognitive theories point to the importance of how patients themselves interpret their symptoms. Physiological theories point to the influence of conditioned-reflex activity in the cerebral cortex on the formation of psychosomatic reactions. However, none of these theories can claim to be the only truth. At the same time, psychoanalytic, cognitive, and physiological theories cannot trace and describe a clear cause-and-effect link between specific conditions and people's psychological traits. These theories only describe general causes of any psychosomatic conditions.
Therefore, in developing this test, only 3 theories were used that more or less clearly try to explain the causes of specific human conditions:
- The theory of character accentuations by A.E. Lichko and K. Leonhard (about the relationship between a person's character type and somatic conditions);
- The theory of emotions (about the relationship between psycho-emotional factors and illness);
- The morphological theory of E. Kretschmer and W. Sheldon (about the relationship between a person's body constitution and a tendency toward groups of conditions).
In this test, you need to rate yourself and your behavior based on the principle of “as a rule,” meaning your usual way of life. Try not to answer statements with “Hard to say” or “Something in between.” Choose one of the four answer options by matching it with your habits, wishes, and actions.
So, after taking the test, you will learn which types of psychosomatic conditions you may be predisposed to based on character traits and emotions. However, we cannot guarantee that the results are 100% accurate, because many factors can determine the development of one condition or another. Still, by taking the test, you will at least be able to determine whether your character, constitutional, and emotional traits may influence the development of certain somatic conditions.
Shall we begin?