Given that there is no proof for psychsomatic illness in a specific individual, what stops the medical...?

Question

...profession incorrectly deferring to the mind as a cause for an unknown/undiscovered physical cause of a patients symptoms ?

...profession incorrectly deferring to the mind as a cause for an unknown/undiscovered physical cause of a patients symptoms ?
[addition:
The existance (or not) of psychsomatic illness is not the question, Proof of it existing in (ie afflicting) a specific individual is pertinent to the question]

question extended because answers have yet to address what might prevent the medical profession deferring to the mind.

Answer 1

Not entirely certain I understand the question, but I can say that I have seen first hand how simply stress can impair healing and increase blood glucose. I can also say that just because we blame the mind for a physical symptom, doesn't nesecarily mean that there isn't a physical cause for it. It simply means we havn't discvoered the physical link to the mind. Tension headaches are a form of psychosomatic illness. Stress causes the HA directly. In this case however, we know how the stress causes the HA. It causes the person to tense muscles wich eventually hurts. Also, researchers/doctors/ don't know everything about anything. What we call psychosomatic in 100 years could be a simple "oh, you have X, do Y and Z, and you will be fine."

Answer 2

Many physicians, especially those that specialize in environmental medicine and/or functional medicine do not believe in the general concept of psychosomatic illness. The brain is a biological organ just like the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc. Any brain dysfunction is likely to have a 'real cause' just like in the other organs.

However, I believe you are really asking about the tendency of some physicians to 'blame the patient' by labeling their complaints 'psychosomatic' when the doctor cannot explain the cause of those complaints. This is irrational, even immature, thinking.

Every currently understood disease was 'unexplainable' until it was 'explained'. Many known diseases (meaning with known causes) were once labeled 'psychosomatic'.

Not long ago, Schizophrenia was routinely blamed on the parenting skills of the mother of the schizophrenic! Now, while the fundamental causes are not yet determined, it is a well accepted fact that schizophrenia is a biological/biochemical disorder.

Frankly, any doctor that would label a patient's condition as caused by a psychosomatic illness is suspect. Yes, there are rare, very rare, cases of psychoses that express themselves as somatic dysfunctions. Most patients with unexplainable symptoms however, have real symptoms that the doctor lacks the knowledge and/or expertise to explain!

Answer 3

What kind of proof would be acceptable to you? Psychosomatic illness such as stress affects the immune system. If the immune system is not functioning properly, you will get sick somatically. Are you waiting for a scientific report with hypothesis testing results?

Answer 4

Im a med student. let me say i can number various causes from hormonal changes to bioquem reactions that take place in the brain.


When the mind weeps the body suffers