MENTAL SYMPTOMS OF FOOD ALLERGY OR INTOLERANCE: PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS AND HYPOCHONDRIA
A large proportion of those with food intolerance are diagnosed as having psychosomatic illness by their family doctors, or by consultants to whom they are referred. Although this is distressing and frustrating for the patient, the confusion is understandable because the two disorders do present a very similar picture in terms of symptoms. Psychosomatic illness, like hypochondria, is a term that is frequendy misused, by the public and the medical profession alike. The term ‘psychosomatic’ is derived from the Greek words psyche meaning soul, and soma meaning body. It denotes an illness in which the action of the mind creates a damaging reaction in the body, with physical symptoms that can be observed or measured. There is no sense in which the symptoms are imaginary or ‘all in the mind’ as is often implied in both medical and casual use. Nor is it possible for the sufferer to ‘snap out of it’ as is often suggested with varying degrees of tactfulness.
There are several ways in which psychosomatic symptoms can be generated. One major route is via the autonomic nervous system which regulates the bodily functions that are not under conscious control, such as digestion, circulation of the blood, breathing and sweating. The autonomic system consists of two parts, the parasympathetic and the sympathetic, which have largely opposing effects. The parasympathetic is responsible for the day-to-day running of the body, for keeping things ticking over nicely. The sympathetic system comes into force when there is an emergency to deal with. It increases the heart rate and blood pressure, and mobilizes glucose, the body’s energy source. It diverts blood from the gut and increases the flow to the muscles, preparing the body for action. The sympathetic system can also cause bowel movement so that the contents of the gut are voided promptly, making the body lighter and therefore faster-moving. The benefit of these reactions have to be understood in terms of life in the wild, where fighting off predators, or fleeing from them, may literally be a matter of life or death. The reactions produced are often summed up as the flight or fight response.
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