You're Not Crazy For Being Sick - Understanding Psychosomatic Illness

[@Livfree33]

All I know is a lot of doctors dismiss symptoms because they assume it’s psychosomatic. My friend has a 10 year old daughter who came to the ER multiple times with rib pain and got dismissed as having a pulled muscle & being dramatic, when she actually had a rare cancer all around her lungs. She just survived 7 months of chemotherapy & radiation and is in remissions thankfully

[@lucheeese]

Thanks for sharing, that sounds absolutely horrible also I'm grateful to hear there were finally some competent doctors she got to see who didn't gaslight her and got extremely lucky to survive. She may have had a rare cancer, however dismissal of patient's physical symptoms as mental is extremely common. As much as I generally enjoy HealthyGamerGG's content, how many people need to live with chronic physical illness dismissed by doctors or worse die cause allegedly "it's just dramatic thoughts in your head". Bias in medicine is practised daily, it's time to address that

[@Livfree33]

@@lucheeese definitely!! Children and women get dismissed the most. There’s so many things wrong with US healthcare. My friend now owes 1.5 million dollars for the medical care her daughter received 😭

[@lucheeese]

@@Livfree33 As someone who have experienced medical neglect/mental gaslighting both to me and others close to me, I just wanted to appreciate and share that it means a lot to many that you share your friend and her daughter's story. You guys are not alone (unfortunately). The insane indeed isn't the patients, it's a dysfunctional healthcare system that for many blocks them from receiving medical rare or bankrupts them when they do 😪 I have no words, really hoping for all the best for your friend and her daughter

[@Tanmay.s689]

​@@Livfree33Wait, $1.5 MILLION ??? jesus, I can't even imagine that being an indian they didn't have insurance?

[@slightlyOnion]

​@@Tanmay.s689afaik. in the US. that can happen to you, even if you have insurance :/ glad to live in europe tbh. Not that the freedom in the US is bad. But the social support is god awful

[@resir9807]

I suffered an extreme case of psychosomatic illness, where I basically lost function of my hands for half a year, due to extreme pain. It manifested at first as cubital tunnel syndrome, then carpal tunnel syndrome, then went through all diseases imaginable as each one was ruled out medically. My family and I were terrified that I might never regain full use of my hands (based on a diagnosis of fibromyalga). Finally, a psychologist posited a crackpot theory how my mind was causing all this to escape the stress I was getting from Uni and work. The moment I took this seriously, the extreme, constant pain went away within a week. This experience has changed my entire perspective on the medical system, my mind and life in general. The mind-body connection is so much more powerful than you believe

[@deliciouspops]

Thanks for sharing! I only read such things about people who went to war. The more you know. [A great motivation to not slack on mind's health.] There is no spoon, ha-ha.

[@danielabrunovska5039]

If you don't mind, could you explain some steps you took to make it go away? What did you do for it to disappear in a week?

[@resir9807]

@@danielabrunovska5039 Sure. First step was putting immediate hold on all stressful work related to my hands, so no more uni homework. Reduced my workload for next semster to half. I started going to ergotherapy, where I learned tasks that strengthened my hand-mind connection. The first few days, I had to push through the pain. It went really fast after that, as I gained hope for the first time in months and got confident it was actually working. My hands now crackle and pop a lot, maybe as a result of being inactive for so long, but the pain is probably gone forever. I feel in control, knowing what to do if it ever happens again

[@olleci]

I've had a similar experience where the mind-body connection was strong although not as bad as yours. A year ago I started to see white flashes on the right and left side of my eyes kind of like when the sun is at your peripheral vision. I didn't give it much importance and some weeks passed. It got to a point in which my condition evolved and it wasn't white flashes anymore, it was like a white tear that would go up or down my eyeball. At that time i panicked and rushed to a ophthalmologist thinking it was a broken blood vessel or so it said on the internet. After some medical examinations, they found nothing and said it was a symptom of stress. I bought eye drops, took some time off and i was fine the next week. Realizing that my stress was so high and i didn't even notice it, helped a lot

[@SKITZ_MONEY]

@@danielabrunovska5039 check out this book called the mindbody prescription by john sarno. i had a similar thing where i was more or less disabled and unable to do the most basic tasks without extreme pain and just as this person wrote, it went away completely in a very short period of time and now im back to normal. genuinely life changing stuff as utterly INSANE as it sounds.

[@Angerina_]

I'm only 20min into the video and my teenage years now make so much more sense. I was so stressed out from being bullied at school that I had several stomuch ulcers, lost weight to dangerous levels and I had no emotional support after my best friend died. My parents are a doctor and a pharmacist, there was an external solution to EVERYTHING while all I needed were hugs and affirmations. They themselves had emotionally unavailable parents since both had lived through WW2 and other brutal things. I have a three year old daughter now and I try SO HARD to learn about myself to heal the trauma that is instilled into me by the two previous generations. It's so hard. I cry, a lot, learning through my own pain how much pain my own mother must have bottled up inside of her. Dr. K, you have no idea how much you're helping our wee little girl by helping her gaming parents to understand themselves better and be there for her, with all our hearts.

[@Kijasmata]

Sounds like you've had basically the same childhood as me with all of that.

[@miranova13]

i’m rooting for you 🥹🙏

[@Vampress09]

Always love to see a cycle breaker. Proud of you. Cry all you need without feeling guilty. All the best!

[@brushzaid2484]

Have you tried counseling? That might help. It might take you faster to where you wanna be with your child.

[@Creationweek]

Had GI problems for 6 years doctors were convinced it was cuz of my anxiety. turns out I got bit by a tick and now I am allergic to beef and pork. Worst part is its condition i had asked my doctor about 3 years ago that only required a blood test. I ended paying out of pocket for a immunologist. I did get it recompensated by insurance when i tested positive, but it still sucked that i basically had to go behind my GPs back to get the test.

[@stephsteph4503]

Over 100,000 cases of Alpha-Gal Syndrome (meat allergy from Lone Star tick bites) have been identified since 2017, and they expect the numbers to keep increasing. Doctors should be on the lookout for this.

[@sethbieber5127]

@stephsteph4503 really!?? That's so weird! I wonder if anything else is going on for some other sensitivities people have

[@GriffinHuntress]

Me too! Unfortunately I'm allergic to all mammalian byproducts now on top of a lot of other food sensitivities D: Which is really hard to explain to people (I get a lot of blank stares) so I tend to just say I eat vegan/kosher... I've learned a lot about how many foods have mammal byproducts in them (even some cane sugar!) but red meat and dairy is definitely the worst.

[@setme4ree]

@@GriffinHuntresseww why cane sugar have that!!

[@Gt3ch]

So sorry you had to go through that and that this kind of malpractice is so common.

[@Ruebeabea]

When Dr. K said that its not mental weakness that causes psychosomatic illnesses, but instead too much mental fortitude I felt so heard. Many nights I find myself super stressed, to the point of almost feeling sick and having chess pain, at the end of the day, and I thought of it as a mental weakness, that I got worn down too easily. Now I realize that I need to be more mindful of how tired I am, and how stressed during the day to make sure I'm not ignoring these things.

[@Ttangko_]

The pain when they promote their pawn

[@euniiieee]

I grew up parentified, and i honestly don't have a memory of my mom where she was not sick. She promised to attend graduations, then few days before them she would say she is sick. That happened in everything when it comes to my life so i was the caretaker, taking her to hospital, reminding her to take medicine, and not getting parental care. While talking to my therapist last year, i mentioned how I don't think my mom's sicknesses were just sicknesses, i said i felt like they were giving her free pass from parenting, and getting her the pity she got from people which she seemed to love especially cause she grew up in a house with many siblings so it was hard to get attention if you were healthy. That was the first time i heard about psychosomatic illnesses, and I'm so glad you made this video as it helped me to understand more about this subject.

[@lisanneschop7317]

That must have been terribly difficult for you growing up. I can imagine as a kid you would despise your mom and question her love for you, because you didn't know and couldn't understand. I hope you manage to process this and forgive your mom, and be able to move on without the past impacting your life.

[@MrZelektronz]

I had to vomit nearly every morning from 5th grade to 12th grade (BC I was extremely nauseous the first few hours of the school day) nobody was able to diagnose me or help me with anything, somewhere around the 10th grade a doctor told me it was probably psychosomatic, nice I had a name for it, but still no help. These were some bad times which led to depression and much more, i'm happy that I got through it alive :)

[@lilymulligan8180]

I had a similar thing - turned out to be acid reflux. Usually I'd wake up super nauseous, dry heave while brushing my teeth, let out a big burp and instantly feel better. But, on the other hand, a friend of mine had really bad stomach aches in high school which was "just" a physical manifestation of her anxiety. Took her years to get diagnosed with anxiety because her main symptom was nausea.

[@ononono7016]

How are your teeth after all this?

[@julietardos5044]

I don't know if this relates to your vomiting or not, but this is what worked for me. Maybe it will help you too. Or not. I used to gag and throw up every time I brushed my teeth in the morning. Then I started making and drinking my own probiotic beverages, and I don't throw up any more. I make beet kvass and drink 1-2 mouthfuls at a time.

[@lynnespinoza4736]

​@@ononono7016As someone who is going through this, the front look perfectly fine- I even get compliments on them- molars are RUINED! They chipped while I was eating popcorn and I'm terribly afraid they'll get infected. Once I save up enough money, I'm scheduling that appointment though! I can promise you that.

[@bobobsen]

@julietardos5044 that sounds psychosomatic

[@jennw6809]

A new term I've heard that I really like is "Psychobiological Illness." The term psychosomatic has unfortunately been tremendously misunderstood as being "all in your head," when in fact, it's very much not! Sometimes I just term it as "stress related" to my massage clients, although even that can feel blamey to some, like, "oh you're just not managing your stress well enough." And in this vein, let's not forget that alexithymia was a survival adaptation for those of us who have it. It's not that we were born defective or we have been purposely suppressing our emotions. Nobody saw and reflected our emotions and taught us what they were -- and/or our emotions weren't responded to with co-regulation. Maybe we were even threatened, or punished for having them ("I'll give you something to cry about!") So we had to "rip out the dashboard wires" because having these emotions we had no way to regulate, was far worse than the misattunement/abuse/neglect we were already experiencing. We had to do it to survive, because the emotions were overwhelming.

[@SmokeandSpirit]

I quite like the term Psychosomatic. Ill push back on the bastards muddying the waters on it's terminology. *shakes fist I think The Body Keeps the Score introduced me to a lot of this stuff. I quite dislike that people are so dismissive about any of this more hollistically centered stuff.

[@ChaoticNeutralMatt]

I'm not sure if they were but they can be if i don't express myself adequately. Anyway PDA (associated with autism) is another thing with a terrible name

[@jennw6809]

@@ChaoticNeutralMatt I agree! Both medicine and psychology name things in the WORST possible ways.

[@emmanarotzky6565]

It already has the word “somatic” in it though

[@critter_paws]

A friend who had it very rough, from the very little he has told me, is so obviously disconnected, aloof, angry, and sad (I know that's a weird mix to put together). I've been doing cptsd and disorganized attachment work over the last year and with passion bc, FINALLY it all makes sense, and he has been my closest person and I've tried so hard to get him on board bc it was obvious once I could actually feel my body and emotions again that I didn't feel good around him bc I can't ever really know him since he doesn't seem to know or want to know hisself. I didn't want to be another person to leave his life and that's where we are now. He would just say he was gonna work on it or learn at least but would never follow through and my heart is so broken for him. I know he is alone now 😔 idk if anyone has any tips I could send to him to help but I don't think he is willing to look underneath or try to begin feeling, I don't think he even remembers what he had to disconnect because of in the first place. It hurts to think of him living out the rest of his life alone bc of this. Except for mostly users coming and going. Ref the alexithymia comment.

[@makku5517]

thank you for making this. I was about to ask for some discussion on this topic. I've been suffering from chronic symptoms for 10+yrs and it's destroyed my life. I'm the 3rd generation of this. All that was told to my grandmother and mother was "hysteria". I normalized this my entire life and blamed myself not making progress on my depression. Only when I matured did I realize I didn't just have physical symptoms due to my depression, I was depressed because I felt so fucking helpless and desperate from my symptoms and no professional took me seriously. At 12 y/o, the pediatric explanation was "growing pains" + "kids do anything to laze around and skip school". The solution provided to me was vitamins and "drink espresso at least once a day". At 12 years old. I also realized I did not spend my days playing videogames because I was addicted or lazy, I did it because it was my only distraction from my fucking suffering when I couldn't go out in the world and do everything everyone else my age could do. Stop dumping everything into "it's all psychology/psychiatry's job", "it all gets fixed with therapy", "drink water live laugh love do yoga and pray". ESPECIALLY when there is physical evidence - specific autoimmune antibodies, imaging anomalies, etc. It's no wonder people go to the most bizarre potential non-scientific treatments when modern medicine treats them this way.

[@Truerealism747]

26 years for me what do you suffer from.

[@Jemdawg1000]

I have a family member with an extreme chronic psychosomatic illness. It is almost impossible to get people to understand. Thank you so much for helping me and others understand it better. Much love for you doc

[@Truerealism747]

Myself to what have they got

[@leftthatbehind6090]

Are you sure it’s truly psychosomatic?! I think the term bullshit. So many people have died because they have a physical illness doctors couldn’t find and blamed it on the psych. Even when long term stress does damage to the body , there is physical damage! Doesn’t mean someone can think their way out of it.

[@Chazzmatazz]

As a Psych-RN and spouse of a partner struggling with a laundry list of these disorders, I want to thank you for this deep-dive. It provides a framework for both practitioners and sufferers. This is an invaluable video and needs to be broadly distributed. It is a truly remarkable piece of content. Thank you Dr K.

[@3dchick]

I've struggled with IBS and Pots, as well as an immunological condition, kind of like rheumatoid, and mood disorders, for 25 years. This is my whole life in this video.

[@BoostedPastime]

He covers IBS in females in one of his videos I believe pertaining to the causes. The body keeps the score does too I believe.

[@terrormilk384]

You still suffering from it? I have ibs too. Really badly. Ive had broken bones over 10 times because i was a really active kid, but my ibs hurts even more, you just kinda learn to accept and live with it. If youre still having problems, please try probiotics, theyre expensive but its the medication for us man. Been taking them for 2 months now and it took some time but now im shitting in the mornings which is a fucking huge relief (im chronically constipated since 4 years)

[@gakailyn9249]

What the heck? I have several "unspecified illness." There's something wrong with my gut, my reproductive system, and I get random unexplained fainting spells/seizures even tho my blood work always comes back normal. My mom literally yesterday suggested that it might be POTS and IBS. Is this common?

[@evaalwora1533]

M I. N

[@Gt3ch]

If you have IBS _AND_ POTS with mood disturbance then the root cause is likely a thiamine deficiency. You should really look into that.

[@mylegispotato]

Maybe I'm weird, but dr. K's videos are more exciting to watch than any entertainment show. Love the way you explain those things. Such a blessing for humanity

[@sofiapaakkonen3731]

It's like to excitement of going to a class with an amazing teacher!

[@steggopotamus]

He's just so animated in just the right way.

[@raraavis7782]

Ikr? Here I am, watching a 1:40h lecture about a problem I (thankfully) don't have and I'm not bored in the slightest.

[@Vampress09]

@@steggopotamus i just love how he starts laughing while talking about disorders and diseases. Seems unhinged but we all know it's cuz he's excited to share his knowledge with us.

[@CristalianaIvor]

I think also it's a cascade effect: we are sick, therefore we fall behind, therefore we have to do more work, to catch up again, therefore we get stressed... because we are stressed we take less care of ourselves, we eat unhealthy, we don't do fitness exersizes, we don't meet friends, therefore we get more stressed and fall behind more, because we get unhappy... At some point you don't have proper muscles anymore that will support your weak body, which gives you crippling pain. You also overexcert them by working for too long. You wrecked your immuno system and your friendships with this ongoing stress and everything starts falling apart like a house of cards... at least that's my experience. Makes me feel good that my way of diet and exersize ( diet is still lacking, but oh well) is the way to go.

[@MattBorchert]

The quality of free information being given out here is incredible. Very thankful for you sharing your knowledge.

[@stephsteph4503]

My older sis has IBS, so this was useful for me to listen to. She also has ADD, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, PCOS (which a doctor thought was gallbladder issues and wrongly removed it), and she seems to have less stomach issues when she avoids gluten, though we don't know if it's a gluten allergy or just an intolerance from her other issues. SOMEHOW, she manages to work 4.5 days a week and keeps a tidy home with 4 cats, 1 dog, and she cooks for her bf. Idk how she powers through every day but it's amazing. I can agree with psychosomatic illnesses usually coming from trauma/abuse, as we came from the same messy upbringing and I have had issues with anxiety, panic attacks, and depression for years. I used to have stomach issues before school/work, but it has calmed down in recent years. The body and brain are definitely connected!

[@AmusedAtMusing]

Your sister sounds amazing! The systems involved in those things are quite complex, and I love this video for helping dig into the systems involved. I also noticed that the particular diagnoses you mentioned she has are often comorbid with the Hypermobility spectrum too. Reading up on Hypermobility and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome might be very interesting to her. 😊

[@m3m3sis]

I've had anxiety since my teens, thanks to a really narc father. Got burnout from doing both retail and engineering studies in 2018. Graduated just on the start of the pandemic, and the only job i managed to get was from the same place i burned out. I tried for a year to do my job but the ever increasing demands and even kind of getting isolated from other workmates by doing webstores pickups i started to show signs of fibromyalgia. It felt like you had the flue but with only having your body be really sore and it would flare up even worse as the stress increased. Quit that shit five months ago. I'd rather be poor and healthy than grind the fuck out my mind and body for pennies and disrespect. Fuck retail.

[@spigney4623]

This has got to be one of the most important videos on the internet. As someone with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) this hits home so hard.

[@TheHouseElf]

THIS!! It plagued me for years

[@lucheeese]

PMDD isn't psychosommatic, if you get a hysterectomy the pmdd is gone and the surgeon didn't surgically remove the psyche in that process. PMDD has treatment options, please seek help from a gyn who has experience on it.

[@mehdihatami3391]

@@lucheeese According to Wikipedia PMDD is psychosomatic but surgery is a possible treatment. Don't know how that works

[@lucheeese]

@@mehdihatami3391 it's hormonal and literally only in the luteal phase

[@elansing3095]

Thanks for all of this, Dr. K-I'm a health and CBT coach (clinical med and psych background) and this is so valuable and helps me to make the bridge with my patients. SO many people have crossover/comorbidities-- we gotta keep educating. You're an amazing teacher!

[@snoozydoozy0]

I thought you said the other type of CBT 💀

[@Glue_Stick98]

​@@snoozydoozy0what's the other CBT?

[@Keniisu]

​@@Glue_Stick98 Look up "CBT Wikipedia"

[@carljennkins7065]

@@Glue_Stick98 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

[@snoozydoozy0]

@@Glue_Stick98 🐓 & 🏀🏀 Torture 😶

[@JadestonePony]

Oh My God. I have IBS. Mindblown. I didn't experience everything on the common childhood/life experiences list, but so many other things are clicking into place. I wish I could have known all this sooner, didn't even know what the term "psychosomatic illness" meant, but I'm glad I know now! In some very real sense, I really did overwork and stress myself into "breaking" or I guess more accurately, into rewiring my system into its current dysfunctional state. That example at 32:30, yeah that definitely makes me feel sick. I also get full body chills, elevated heartrate, and a sense of cold fear, which is maybe due to the adrenaline.

[@AleaumeAnders]

Thx. I'm coping with some kind of chronic fatigue syndrom (three years at least, but even getting a diagnosis is rather difficult), and are sent from doctor to doctor. Those with a somatic background just claim it's a purely psychatric problem (preferably "it's a depression") and thus they can't help me. My psychatrist meanwhile can only send me back to somatic experts, because the psychological front is not the main culprit and under control. It's so frustrating, and honestly: it's the ignorance by many doctors I encounter is sometimes more depressing than the disease itself.

[@chelseatomkowiak4207]

I have a similar issue. I’ve had chronic fatigue for years, since I was a teenager. But there’s nothing physically wrong with me, sleeping disorders were ruled out, and I’m not depressed (according to my therapist). Yet I’m so tired all the time. It is relentless. But no one has an answer as to what is wrong. I hope you find some solutions that work for you, or at least a health professional that will truly listen.

[@AleaumeAnders]

@@chelseatomkowiak4207 My GP does listen, but he doesn't like the CFS diagnostic. He got a point though, for many doctors this is just another way to say: I can/don't want to help you. Still I need to somehow get a diagnosis, as this is required for anything following. My current approach is to listen carefully to my body, and hit the brakes at the slightest signal. Which is pretty hard for me, as I've got a duracel bunny temperament. Honestly, I think it'smostly a waiting game, until research has found a way to identify and maybe even cure CFS.

[@ryantsup6623]

I am going through really rough time at the moment and I really appreciate the HealthyGamer content. I am so devistated but I've never seen so much hope in such dark times. Thank you from all of my heart.

[@eagleeyedigital8656]

All the best to you... keep fighting don't give up... :)

[@thequeenofcydonia]

Keep going ❤

[@ceruleanku]

this is basically a meme at this point, but i was *just* at the doctor’s office talking about my chronic pain/fatigue, systemic inflammation, IBS, and potential fibromyalgia. this video is helpful for understanding more about this very complex and important subject, thanks!

[@MichaelNerman]

If you've been fatigued for over six months and don't meet the criteria for fibromyalgia, look into chronic fatigue syndrome. Because many doctors are ignorant of it, I recommend learning about it yourself and seeking a support group if you believe you have CFS.

[@Truerealism747]

@@MichaelNerman I've had CFS before fybromyalgia but unsure if it's still the me muscle pain fatigue

[@Truerealism747]

Check out you don't have Asperger's ADHD hypomobility I have all these didn't no until my son's diagnosis check out Dr lenz ADHD fybromyalgia connection if so the clue hypomobility

[@MichaelNerman]

@@Truerealism747: To me, the telltale sign of ME/CFS is post-exertional malaise. I don't know tons about FM, but if you get tired from exerting yourself (even 24-48 hours later), and don't recover with rest, you've likely got ME/CFS.

[@Truerealism747]

@@MichaelNerman but I've had that from birth bas when I was born I slept 23 hrs a day but it really put it's game at 17 when u broke my tailbone but now it's more muscle pain had so many symptoms over last 26 years yes pem been bad but ldn has helped that and minerals today though been bad fatigue day but it's pain worst for me now with fatigue second.ribbose helps fatigue though

[@MiauxCatterie]

thank you for this. i struggle with these types of issues and i feel so ignored and dismissed anytime i try to talk to doctors about it. i've been doing what i can, but i think i need to be a bit more focused about it if i want to really get better for good. a big problem being poverty makes it hard to buy healthier food, and illness makes it harder to have the energy to make the food, and then the body doesnt act well when you eat food. i've got such disordered eating habits, and my ability to exercise comes and goes with the gut flareups.

[@nina-mill]

This genuinely means so much to me as someone who has been struggling with this most of my adult life. This is the first comprehensive video about psychosomatic illness I've seen and God, it is such a breath of fresh air. All the thanks and blessings to Dr K and the team.💗💗💗

[@Jhawk_2k]

I've been in the process of breaking down the parts of my identity that have held me back and it's so true that the emotions are stored internally. Lots and lots of uncomfortable emotions to work through, but the progress is really starting to come alive

[@zack2804]

A few weeks ago, after having slept later at night than usual for several months, a sudden and dreadful thought came into my mind and freaked me for no particular reason. That was the thought that I and everyone I know will eventually die. I found it so suddenly terrifying and began to have a series of severe panic attacks for about 10 days. I could barely eat, was getting diarrhea, sweating, vomiting, and just living in fear. I never realized how much mental health could affect your physical health.

[@Tehkkey]

This has to be the single most comprehensive yet precise, amazing video that I have ever seen explaining my entire experience with the medical system the last 5 years and my traumatic life up until this point. I have said so many times over the years that "doctors don't connect things they just focus on what symptom is in front of them right now." This video is real help, and I'm so grateful that you took the time to put this content out there into the world.

[@Jen.K]

That ending...."Good Luck", ironically perfect, after finally hearing a doctor, a psychiatrist amazingly, being honest about the complexity of some illnesses and that we don't actually know all that much, it was a breath of fresh air to be wished luck, because we certainly will need it. But seriously, it's gonna take me a while to settle down after hearing a psychiatrist talking about yoga, meditation and diet. Maybe there is still hope for the profession. Thank you for this lecture, it has confirmed a few things which I had figured out for myself.

[@cookiemonnom_]

Dr. K, I am late. I studied IBS to advocate for myself when I go to the doctor. You summarized years of pain and denial in a 2 hour video. The 6nonlinear condition is what I had described to my doctors and they did not believe me. Thank you for validating my experience and giving me a way to bring my health back into my hands.

[@ScoobyDoozy]

I’ve got a complex genetic condition, and still find this so helpful. Even when there is a clear organic pathology, these methods can and do assist greatly in maintaining & gaining the greatest level of wellness & functionality possible. Thank you Dr GG. The fact we can access this sort of knowledge for free is incredible to me.

[@JohnSmith-rr8hp]

WOW, learnt so much from this, thank you, I'm gonna try fix myself. This is an eye opening for something that's bothering me for years because my stress is chronically high.

[@sarahb4513]

This is incredible, doc, thank you so much. I’ve suffered with chronic pain for decades and always known it was psychosomatic, but nobody could successfully tell me what to do about it. A truly incredible coincidence: a lot of this is stuff, my massage therapist was telling me just a week ago. She was a trained psychologist in Russia, but her degree was not good for practice in the US. It sounds like their style of psychoanalysis is a lot more equipped to help! I mean, I was face down in the massage table talking about how I always feel like I have to change something external! And she was telling me the solution is for me to change my mind! Like, the exact subject of this video. My body/mind connection is severely lacking in interoception- I have intractable bruxism that I don’t notice while it’s happening, despite it causing serious pain and problems. Wild stuff.

[@kaemincha]

I had psychosomatic syncopy in high school for months and internalized it really hard when we finally figured out it was psychosomatic, and not a heart, blood pressure, or iron deficiency problem. Years later, I can have some sympathy for my past self and understand my body's reactions to severe and persistent untreated mental sickness much more.

[@nujabes1fan]

Currently dealing with this. Under high financial stress from my business had a panic attack for the first time and now I constantly feel odd and "dizzy" and constantly think im going to faint. Never actually fainted but now I get dizzy when standing from lying down and it scares me really bad. Very annoying.

[@nicolemarieb.7044]

Interstitial cystitis, pelvic pain, fibro…all started from injuries/infections but stayed chronic because of psychosomatic issues. At their worst, i DID need meds to keep working. Once i figured out the mind body connection, the thing that helped me most was regular exercise and not catastrophizing or over analyzing.

[@maliabella]

I’ve had chronic IBS for years. Doctors tried to tell me it was psychosomatic. I paid out of pocket for testing and found I had a gut infection of SIBO and H Pylori, which left untreated can cause Stomach Cancer! I’ve been treating the H Pylori and other parasitic bacteria’s and my symptoms are going away. Doctors failed me by saying it was Psychosomatic. I will repeat one more time: My IBS is not caused by trauma. It is not caused by stress or anxiety. It is not caused by a dysregulated nervous system. It was caused because of multiple rounds of antibiotics that destroyed my gut. It was caused by food poisoning that exposed my damaged gut to parasitic bacteria. Everyone story is different, but I’m living proof that IBS is not just a Psychosomatic illness, but rather a real dysbiosis of the gut that can be fully addressed.

[@KxNOxUTA]

"is not just a Psychosomatic illness" is literally what he said. The physical causes are real, the psychological and behavioural impact of the illness on you is real and very physical, too. The problem is that many medical doctors still do not know that. Hence, they do not understand that their job would be to help you tease apart which instances of you need addressing e.g. also in order to rule out causes. Think about it, even if they were aware, they still might fail you, cause there are way too many causes on all layers AND the causes differ in rarity. And your case doesn't sound like a standard case. And then some systems - like the American one - kind of discourage testing without a solid proof for it's necessity, too. If you had e.g. tracked it in a diary, you may have found inconsistencies with "it's just in your head", so to speak. Because when you're pychologically comfy, eat well etc. and then your gut still acts up, then that's evidence pointing at a undetected physical component within that system. It's not that we're abandoned. It's just that we're sometimes mutually helpless in the face of too many possibilities and our resources to tease things apart are not always there. I'm really really glad you found a solution!!!

[@maliabella]

@@KxNOxUTA thanks for your comment! I totally agree with you on the resources part…To actually heal IBS you need access to a lot of resources to tease out the root cause. The resources are hard to find and even harder to access reliably and consistently to make a real difference. And indeed I hear that he’s making a more nuanced point on the psychosomatics. I’m just bitter, as many other IBS patients are about being told this is psychosomatic and something I’ll have for life and there’s nothing the medical doctors can do about it. But I appreciate you explaining his points more clearly, you definitely are right about how doctors discourage testing too!

[@louisegriffin6672]

SIBO suffered here to which parasites did you have?

[@maliabella]

@@louisegriffin6672 I took the GI Map test and it came back positive for blastocystis hominis parasite. From my experience the GI Map test is one of the most comprehensive tests for IBS patients and I highly recommend.

[@tinad8561]

The issue I have with the idea that IBS is hypersensitivity to normal processes is, okay, if bowel processes are normal where do the two extra inches on my waistline during an IBS attack come from? Because that never happened before IBS. I’m not picking on this guy specifically, that’s the pitch Nerva gives as well and yet, hypnotherapy gives no joy either.

[@wayIess]

A coworker of mine had to retire because of her husband's medical issues which have been stumping their doctors. And it sounds exactly like how you're describing POTS. I'm going to try showing her this so maybe it'll help her understand what's happening better and figure things out with their physicians. He has partly blocked arteries and has already had one surgery stressing his heart.

[@leftthatbehind6090]

Pots isn’t psychosomatic

[@lucheeese]

POTS is a neurological disorder, a dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system. I know you mean well and it's great you're taking interest in helping and sharing, however you might as well just slap him across his face it'll be quicker and less painful for both of them than sitting through loads of time of hearing how his condition is in his head and something to therapy his way out of, while it's clearly defined by WHO and CDC (what Dr K adheres to as a doctor) a physical condition you cannot will your way out of

[@Oo1strawberry1oO]

What helped me most to get rid of reoccuring wrist pain was just a physiotherapist that talked to me and told me that she went through the same struggles but it's completely possible to overcome it. The doctor before that just told me to quit my job and that there is no other solution.

[@kokoro_flow]

Thank you, Dr. K. As a patient with Fibromyalgia and mental illness, I understand deeply now that I need to get back into exercising, eating healthier & doing mindfulness practices on a consistent basis. (I've been getting therapy & medications for years.)

[@soloman747]

Brilliant Presentation!

[@meltygear5955]

This video was so good I watched it a second time, this time with my parents. My situation is mostly a combination of hyperactive nervous system (IBS, circulation issues, vomiting even when I got too excited to the point where my parents would lie to me when they were taking me to the toy shop), and complete lack of emotional modulation (I can listen to a hype song and get all sweaty and heart racing even while I'm sitting). I also exhibit what would otherwise call "anxious" even when I speak (would either raise my voice or talk too fast). Last week I saw a random power cable at the kitchen wall and my kneejerk reaction was "what kind of cockroach flying abomination is this?" before I realize it was the cable. I also think my exagerrated stress response in hypothetical scenarios is also the cause of my procrastination.

[@kadrei]

Finally an explanation! THANK YOU I was looking for so long for content like this. Went to so many doctors for my gut problems, no one could help me. Some told me it's all in my head, some told me to just stop eating carbs and milk and sugar and fodmaps and histamines and red meat and processed food and so on, one told me to Google my problems (WTF), one told my there's nothing I can do I'm just born with a crapy liver without doing any tests to support that. Waisted Thousands of dollars for nothing

[@Aveilas11]

Dissociation from mental pain through psychosomatic pain is so real. Second year college I had developed awful pain in my wrists, and physical therapy didnt really help. It was so strange because while the pain made classes extremely hard and was really distressing, those months were also the happiest I've had because I felt so little psychological stress at the time. It was only when I went to a therapist that the pain went away, and I stopped focusing so much on how my hands felt and worrying I would hurt them again.

[@bobo707007]

As a practising psychologist, many thanks for such a coherent and informative breakdown of this. The aoe healing from your videos extends to other professionals being better able to support clients on topics that we are often not trained on. Sincerely, thank you, Dr. K.

[@lil_weasel219]

All of my illnesses that are now finally diagnosed as physical illnesses, after id been saying it for years and years, were labelled "psychosomatic" by psychs before and dismissed. difficulty urinating due to a urethral stricture, neck and back pain due to polyradiculopathy on 10 nerve roots, tinnitus tied to an ASD (im a woman..) that i got perpetually gaslit on and only got tested for at 22 after i paid out of pocket and found the testing place myself, headaches due to familial hemiplegic migraine, Digestive issues due to Intestinal methanogen overgrowth (ok that one is complicated, but theres no utility to treating it as psychosomatic, and no treatment is received that way). all of that had been labelled as "psychosomatic", and ignored. 4 of of these could have been diagnosed with a single test, and my diagnosis was delayed by 6 whole years, and i had to pay all of it out of pocket. This long term dismissive treatment has left me with a complex bundle of medical trauma that builds upon my previous trauma that i sought help for from psychs in the first place. Had i never sought help from psychs, id be less traumatised than i am now, they did not help with trauma, but did cause me more trauma. This label is of such a nature (unfalsibiable) that its so damagimg it shouldnt even be used, because it systemically _prompts_ patient dismissal and unserious treatment. It is often used as a euphemism for "hypochondriasis" as well. Just no. In reality there are no real distinction between "psychosomatic" and "physical" because your brain is a physical organ, as is your gut. None of that actually really makes sense. All that remains is that strong dismissal potential

[@QWERTZ-NOOB]

I hear you. The tendency of the medical field to neglect physical reality and biological causes of illnesses is astonishing. I wonder if it's some sort of post-modernist mind-over-matter ideology or if it goes all back to Rousseau and Spinoza. Psychology is the death of science-based medicine. Astrology does even less harm.

[@philippfischer717]

I hope this reaches Dr. K. I watched this video right when it came out. It helped me so much, I can't even describe. Realizing that I am not mentally weak, but strong. But the biggest one was realizing I have IBS. I have been struggling with underweight for my whole life. I started eating and gained 12kg in the 6 month. My mood is stable, I have the energy to seriously lift now. I went from barely holding it together as a worker to talking about taking over the firm I work at. Just this one simple change, realizing I starved my whole life. Thank you Dr. K. and everyone involved.

[@ParryBlairs]

You are genius! 🎉And a good teacher. It is so kind and generous of you to share your knowledge in a way that we can all understand. We need to know this stuff for ourselves and our loved ones. I wish all the doctors and counselors knew this too. The mind and body and spirit connection is so intertwined and you explain it so well. I thank you and I will listen to this whole seminar again. It seems that we should all buy very expensive tickets to hear this kind of seminar. Thank you, Professor!

[@Gabster1990]

Thank you for uploading this. So many people with chronic pain and illness have run out of options on treatment with medications and surgery.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

It's unfortunate that more doctors don't prescribe therapy for pain. I've personally found that most of my pain goes away, or is greatly reduced, when I acknowledge the source and take action to address it. The whole purpose of pain is to tell you not to do something that's hurting you. A bit of gratitude to the body for being kind enough to inform you of the problem is never a bad idea.

[@jennapruner7989]

OMG I’ve been searching for this information for almost 30 years! It all aligns with my experience and makes things so much clearer. Thank you thank you !

[@s.b200]

I've been struggling with burnout and psychosomatic stress symptoms for many years, and have been on sick leave for more than 7 months now (I work as a PhD student in science). And after this video I've FINALLY gotten vital little pieces of information I needed and had been missing! And Dr. K told it all in only 1,5 hours, which is quite remarkable :) So now I actually made a powerpoint with this info so I can show my habilitation doctors and discuss with them. I was diagnosed with autism, so the ability for my mind to work around stress is different... but now I have more understanding to work from! I'am SO grateful to Dr K and the team for this! Thank you so, so much!

[@etcwhatever]

Im on the spectrum too. Recently diagnosed. Also on a sick leave for almost 1 year. I will also start therapy soon with a psychologist who specializes in neurodivergent conditions. I hope this gives me tools to understand my limits and manage stress better. Take care

[@8ruja]

you’ve been so helpful in my healing journey. more than most doctors. thank you so much for these videos

[@leporiaantic]

The more I hear about things like this from reputable people, the more my blood boils and the more I'm able to push through workouts solely fueled by the anger have towards negligent social institutions. I really want to get in to youth rights, because it starts in childhood. Kids are not taught about their situations. Kids are not taught emotional health or proper sexual health and safety. I'm assuming this leads or contributes to Alexithemia (?), because kids repress so they can fit molds in a highly impersonal social institution. Down the line, many of these kids can grow up with vices or cardiovascular issues because of repression. Screw the school system :) they are the biggest bystanders.

[@Sarah-with-an-H]

This is incredibly helpful in understanding a lot of my issues. The amount of times I’ve had to cancel plans due to tummy issues is not even funny. I didn’t even realize it’s connected to anxiety. I feel a lot of pressure around family and I haven’t enjoyed participating for a long time for many reasons. I have RA and one of the medications I was on gave me a lot of digestive troubles but besides the tummy issues it gave me it was very effective.

[@etcwhatever]

Im on humira. Anti inflamatory pills wreak havoc with the GI system. Luckily i got gastritis from the "pill phase" but no bowel problems. Im just thankful im on imunossupressants now. All injectable.

[@Sarah-with-an-H]

@@etcwhatever I was diagnosed with gallstones recently

[@hellequinm]

10:00 this is exactly how I described to my therapyst, I fully understand how I do it and why I do it. I found out last year at 35 that I have autism, from very young age I noticed that my body could not handle what the world required me to do in order to function "properly", so I just went full-power mode and forced my own body to do what I wanted to. This led to many health issues. I don't know how to function without doing it this way, that's what I'm trying to figure out. Otherwise I understand I won't live long enough, living on full-stress mode is a terrible way to go through life.

[@catherinedufresne3543]

You sound so similar to me. Not with a therapist to help yet though...

[@hellequinm]

@@catherinedufresne3543 I'm sorry to hear that. But there's tons of content of good professionals here on youtube that can support you on understanding it, that's how I ended up seeking for an assessment and found out I'm autistic. I wish you all the best

[@slaydreamer]

Just shared this video with a family member in need, thank you for everything you do!

[@blp9182]

i had chronic pain in my hands that lasted about a year and a half, made me fall in depression as my main job is being an artist and I just couldnt cope with not being able to not utilize my hands, i ruled out a lot of diseases trough medical work and even got falsily diagnosed with lupus, sarno books on back pain being due to an underlying psychosomatic disorder most of the time opened my mind at the time and taking the knowledge seriously made my pain go away almost completely, even if sometimes it migrates to other areas, its such. Pitty because the information we have on psychosomatic disorders is so overlooked these days..

[@patiakreles]

I had pylori and had really bad episodes of vomiting and whatnot. Every doctor I saw told me I had IBS and I was like I used to have that when I was younger and this doesn't feel like that!!! And I finally had an endoscopy and got my antibiotics. A doctor even told me I was bulimic for god's sake. In my experience dr say "psychosomatic" when they have no clue what is wrong with you.

[@notmyrealaccount8564]

Definitely true and it is so unscientific to say something is imaginary when you can’t find an easy explanation yet it’s standard medical practice. Psychosomatic can be a death sentence for people with anything hard to spot because once they are labeled nobody is going to take the time to order more tests because they presume they will only be wasting their time. The irony is the mental damage that being labeled psychosomatic can do is so huge especially when you don’t accept it because you know something is wrong but when everyone else is pretty much laughing you out of their office, it’s like torture and only the very strongest can survive it without giving in to the gaslighting of literally everyone else around them.

[@Gt3ch]

You are exactly right. Unfortunately this kind of malpractice is extremely common. I'm very glad you were eventually helped.

[@QWERTZ-NOOB]

At least one person in the comments figured this out. I was losing hope in humanity while reading the other comments. In reality there is no existing evidence for any of the "psychosomatic diseases", just absence of evidence which is then reinterpreted and relabeled in order to not embarrass the medical profession. In comparison to mathematics, physics and chemistry and even biology the vast majority of medicine and psychology/psychiatry are intellectually lazy and not following scientific principles.

[@lucheeese]

Doctors: correlation doesn't equate causation Also doctors: do you have stomach problems and previous trauma?

[@SarahGuo-Rohe]

Thank you for sharing this! As someone who works as a PA previously in Hospitalist Medicine and now in Psychiatry and Geriatrics, this is very helpful with understanding pathophysiology of so many illnesses that are so perplexing and it really helps to be able to break this down/be affirming to patients who are struggling so they can recover and know that their experience is real. I really appreciate the work that you do, Dr. K!

[@obviousobviously2666]

Another banger of a video. Dr. K isn't just a national treasure at this point but a WORLD treasure. I love everything you do Dr. K. Much love to you and your family! 😊

[@joemama2499]

Wow this is everything i’ve been trying to explain to my mom who has chronic ibs (intense abuse history) for literally 2 years now all in one place thank you so much

[@lukedallmer7684]

I have been throwing up 3-4 times a day at least with extreme fatigue and an almost constant headache for around 6 months and no answers except for this thank you dr. K great video helped me out a lot

[@lilijagaming]

My IBS has recently started getting better - even tho I dropped the meds that help a little bit (I did that from time to time to see if anything is changing). I first thought it was just diet changes. But at the same time I've started going to a yoga studio in May. Now it makes sense as this is not the first time I've made a diet change but the first time I've started practicing yoga regularly.

[@train_cam]

Just what I needed to see, after breaking out in stress-hives yet again on this Tuesday afternoon 👌

[@JLchevz]

Once again talking about things almost nobody else talks about/knows about. Thank you for this!!! This was excellent and a little bit validating if I may say so.

[@jessantoinette556]

Thank you so much Dr. K for sharing your knowledge with us. I've been suffering from severe depression and anxiety in addition to psychosomatic illness (IBS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue). I have to admit that I went back through your lecture because as my depression has become slightly better, I realized that most of it didn't sink in the first time around. But it gives me hope that I may be able to do somethings to start feeling better.

[@allychristiansen]

I'd love to hear more about this! A discussion on Gabor Maté's The Myth of Normal would be cool too, he talks about the systemic factors leading to illness.

[@nootall]

I've watched an unbelievable amount of Dr K in the past and this video is one of the most valuable ones I've seen yet. My mindset towards all my physical and psychological discomfort has switched completely. I've recently been going to a chiropractor for this burning shoulder pain I've been experiencing every so often. After several weeks, nothing really changed. It kept coming back. But since watching this video, I've been looking more and more into psychosomatic stuff, and how the body throws out these defence mechanisms in the form of physical discomfort. And since I've started paying attention to the pain with this perspective (that it's my body trying to distract me), It's almost disappeared. I've also gone beyond that initial shoulder problem, investigating other discomforts I've had physically and psychologically: When they strike, What I might be trying to avoid. What the discomfort is trying to distract me from. Bringing my awareness to these kinds of things. Overall, it's brought me a whole new understanding of mindfulness, and what it's all about; and I'm optimistic that it'll be of great help.

[@scds1082]

really fascinating....thank you

[@moderngoblin]

I grew up with chronic nausea and vomiting but not any trauma. Regardless of whether the symptoms came from within me or not the solution was positively within me. Now I’ve not had spasmatic vomiting for 5 years. Also medical cannabis addressed the nausea and magic mushrooms helped me pave the neural pathway to the solution that resided within me as well.

[@tylerc4318]

Holy shit first the visualization and now this?! You could not have timed these better. After catching covid I had lasting symptoms that no specialist could pin point a reason for and it left me in such a terrible state of mind. Even though they weren't that bad, it just felt like I was deteriorating and losing control. I just got covid again and keep reassuring myself it'll be different this time without actually knowing how, but after these videos, I feel like I have a how. Thank you so much!!!

[@ArtyAntics]

Those who think these illnesses are only psychosomatic are ignorant. Trauma causes epigenetic changes that can also be passed down through long rna. There are now studies that show that CFS/ME is a mitochondrial dysfunction that stops energy being utilised by the cell, new fibromyalgia studies are showing that the inter muscular pressure in patients is up to 3 times more than average people. Cortisol levels irritate and eventually destroy the gut lining, as do some medications. We could go on for days with all the ways trauma effects the body. Trauma also causes early death through heart attacks, diabetes etc… yet those get treated as medical issues, when for those without trauma are often victims of their own life style choices. All of theses illness pathways are evidence that trauma is stored in the body. Why can’t physicians just accept this fact? Stop treating what someone else did to us as our lifestyle choices or imaginary suffering! Even the term psychosomatic is stigmatising, it should be traumatic injury. You can go to therapy to learn how to manage you flight, fight, freeze responses and reduce your acute stress but until you deal with the chronic stress in the body you can’t recover. 90% of what improved my health were physical changes, not psychological intervention.

[@Jade_Angelica]

I was looking for a comment like this. I agree. One cause may have been psychological stress, but it causes real physical changes in the body, and physical damage to the body. I had to heal some emotional issues to stop adding stress to my body, but ultimately what I needed to improve my symptoms were things like diet restrictions and exercise.

[@nink199]

And then there’s people like me who get told everything is psychosomatic and I can’t gain weight because I definitely have an ED with a BMI of under 18 and I’m just suppressing it. Turns out I’m allergic to all stone fruit, only took 15 years to find out and 7 times gastric ulcers nearly every damn cherry season (they said it was stress related while I was on holiday ofc). I tell you NO doctor ever thought of an allergic reaction while neurological symptoms, asthma and “all summer diarrhea and gastritis” are pretty easy to connect to that. I only got the idea because I randomly stumbled upon an article and read that stone fruit allergies are commonly developed in late teenage years and had a test taken and an elimination diet this year (I’m 32). I could never point it to one food because it’s cherries, peaches, plums, apricots and also strawberries and I was eating all of them all summer. I gained 14lbs already… while usually I’d lose 12lbs during summertime. Thank you medical gaslighting.

[@lucheeese]

Thanks for this. People like Us are the majority of those being told by MDs that our issues are psychosommatic

[@lilytea3]

0:00: 🧠 Psychosomatic illness is a condition where there is a psychological and physical component, but Western medicine fails to treat it effectively due to the separation of mind and body. 7:44: 💡 Psychosomatic illness is not caused by a weak mind, but by a strong mind that suppresses emotions and ignores physical signals, leading to somatic problems. 16:22: 🧠 Psychosomatic illness, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), is not purely psychological but involves a complex interplay between mind and body. 25:30: 🔬 People with IBS experience a hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, leading to prolonged periods of high stress and symptoms such as diarrhea. 37:02: 🧠 IBS and POTS are physiological conditions that can cause various symptoms, including nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, sleep disturbance, weakness, palpitations, lightheadedness, dizziness, and chest pain. 42:59: 🧠 POTS is a condition characterized by paradoxical vasoconstriction, dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system, and hypersensitivity to visceral sensory input. 53:40: 🧠 Fibromyalgia involves abnormal nervous input and low-level inflammation, leading to widespread pain throughout the body. 1:02:21: 🧠 The speaker discusses the limitations of Western medicine in treating complex conditions and emphasizes the importance of considering genetic, social, and psychological factors in psychosomatic illness. 1:11:42: 🧠 Psychosomatic illness is a result of the mind and body connection, and can be influenced by stress and trauma. 1:21:07: 💡 Psychosomatic illness involves various factors such as brain, sensory attention, rewiring, and diet. 1:29:18: ⚕ The mind-body connection is crucial in treating psychosomatic illnesses, and various approaches like psychotherapy, neuroplasticity, mind-body practices, and diet can be effective. 1:37:00: 💊 Western medicine is not equipped to address the underlying causes of health problems and doctors often dismiss patients' symptoms. Recap by Tammy AI

[@ReineDeLaSeine14]

Thank you

[@jessicabrauman]

I'm only part way through the video, so my apologies for commenting early. But I just wanted to say thank you for the compassionate and informed approach you have to psychosomatic illness. Often, when doctors say something is psychosomatic, all it sounds like they are saying is that they think you are either imagining it, you are overly sensitive to normal bodily stimuli, or you are misinterpreting symptoms of anxiety as illness. It creates this big sense of shame (at least for me) and makes it so much harder to talk about or to try to improve.

[@sheenawashere16]

Hi I love your work and I really appreciate your explanation on psychosomatic illnesses because I think your explanation is very thorough and fantastic. And for most of everything you've said I completely agree. I am personally very sick (not exactly POTS) and before I got sick I truly did believe psychology and things like journalling, meditation, and yoga could fix any symptoms I had. I found out that this was incredibly naive of me but understandable for the knowledge and experience I had. Especially because I had amazing benefits from mediation and yoga. However, POTS and CFS/ME are not psychosomatic and the perception that are can be incredibly damaging for the mental health of patients and especially the way that doctors in the general community treat people (which you mentioned as well) with these conditions. There actually isn't any difference in the rate of mental health conditions and anxiety against the general population amongst POTS patients. Although it can be well-meaning, when doctors, who are people in a position of power, tell you that there is a psychological component that is CAUSING part of your illness when there isn't any, it can be really damaging. It's not to say that there is anything wrong with addressing psychological concerns and other psychosomatic conditions, is just that in this case it's just not true and it can make you second guess your reality. It can make you feel like you shouldn't trust yourself when you feel mentally okay and like you were mentioning, you really feel the blame for something that was outside of your control. This is something that you want to eventually relieve when you have any chronic illness but it's doubled down with autonomic disorders. It's even more frustrating when none of the mental health support strategies work to relieve you of your physical symptoms (and sometimes make it worse like yoga can be horrible with the upside down poses and mediation can lower your blood pressure too much that you pass out). Most people with POTS either get it after an infection like covid (e.g. long-covid) or a head injury or due to genetic conditions like EDS where your blood vessels are more elastic. Which I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) all of this still comes under the concept of Karma but it's not like yoga and meditation are necessarily going to fix the problem. Especially, when these practices essentially rely on turning off the sympathetic nervous system so that a HEALTHY parasympathetic nervous system can finally rest and digest but in autonomic disorders, the injury or stain has been done to the parasympathetic nervous system so you can never fully heal in this method. Hence why the treatment for POTS essentially mets your nervous system where it's at and helps to strengthen everything else around the system so that you can function normally (and hopefully eventually heal the weakness in a good majority of people) To address your concerns about how GI symptoms occurs in POTS, the nausea is often from the chronic dehydration and the constipation and vomiting are often from gastroparesis because essentially there's a whole slowing down of the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system needs to compensate like you explained. The diaherrea is often from the increased compensatory adrenaline to squeeze the blood vessels or from the "dumping syndrome" with the constipation. POTS can cause anxiety due to the need for increased adrenaline but anxiety and cognition doesn't cause POTS. Calling POTS psychosomatic because it can cause increased feelings of anxiety due to the increased compensatory adrenaline is like calling Graves disease psychosomatic because it too causes anxiety. In both scenarios, yes in certain cases things mental health support can help with coping but they aren't the fundamental problem and will not make the problem go away. So I'm not entirely understanding how you are differentiating psychosomatic to neurological to biological conditions if autonomic conditions are psychosomatic.

[@HoldMyBeerWoman]

One must do what you can to brace against the shit of a simple day...Drink till your happy, if you enjoy social drinking do that. If not then drink alone and enjoy.

[@buffienguyen]

+++

[@markvincentordiz]

You didnt like what people think of psychosomatic so youre in the act of working hard and thoroughly elaborating everything about it.

[@croissant4131]

POTS is actually very strongly linked to sideropenia (iron deficiency) and low iron storage. iron deficiency is ofc defined by its fatigue, and is also directlx tied to anxiety and irritability

[@chriskozak7356]

And vitamin D deficiency even more so.

[@equusequinox2617]

I'm glad this clip auto played cuz it might've been one I would've skipped not understanding what psychosomatic illness meant, but this is exactly what I've been experiencing and I'm determined that being put on an anti-anxiety med from my GP was not the only answer. Thank you for this other perspective on how to use other methods to heal.

[@CardinalTreehouse]

Very much pertains to autism. That's what masking is - ignoring the stress signals sent to the body for the sake of social integration. Doing it for 13 years left me a shell due to dissociation.

[@ReineDeLaSeine14]

Autism also disrupts effective interoception.

[@Truerealism747]

@@ReineDeLaSeine14 well I have found out I have Asperger's add because of my fybromyalgia do I not no what pressure I out on my neeves

[@etcwhatever]

Im autistic too. I get it. I was mindblown on how much i was masking

[@kattanism]

The missing piece here isn't only trauma. People with even mild hypermobolity often manifest all these issues. Trauma at any point in life can make it worse. Doctors seem to miss hypermobility and ehler danlos because they've been taught in medical school that its rare. It's not that rare. Fibromyalgia is often being found in people with hypermobility, and not surprisingly so, their deficient collagen structures don't hold the body together correctly at the cellular level. This research is still not well known by mainstream doctors. I went through everything Dr. K is saying and once I started making adjustments wrt to the underlying hypermobility issues, I was able to get a better handle on things and have a better quality of life. Bottom line alot of this isn't psychosomatic illness, I guarantee lots of these patients have Joint Hypermbolity Syndrome and are more sensitive to their environments and stressors (such as early life abuse). I am one of the. All the diseases he mentions - fibromyalgia, POTS, IBS (and also things like mast cell disorders, PMDD and autism) have extemely higher rates in people with JHS. Btw if the body can't mantain status with blood or someome with histamine issues is obviously going to look like an anxiety disorder when its not necesarily from a mental illness standpoint. Hope this helps someome out there as it took me 15 years fo figure out this complicated issue.

[@mikehowlett7373]

I don't know the full science behind this, but I know two, possibly three, people whose circumstances and diagnoses fit this explanation exactly. They (and their doctors) came to a similar conclusion, but it took almost two decades to get there.

[@AlchemicalAudio]

This is the most important comment on this whole comment section… thank you

[@kattanism]

@@AlchemicalAudio thank you! That means a lot.

[@kattanism]

@mikehowlett7373 yes its absoloutely maddening how much of the population has gone untreated or mistreated because there's such a lack of awareness about this being the root cause. Some estimates say 20% of the population is hypermobile. How many of us are even represented in medical studies? And how much of this condition is taken into account as a determining factor in medical treatments. My guess is almost never. (I tend to get every listed side effect for every prescription among others, as do others like me). :(

[@canyonprincess]

YES! I also have several of these issues, and it's obviously connected in so many ways. I'm curious what you did wrt hypermobility that helped?

[@alurainspires1432]

Absolutely healing just from understanding the process of the mind and it’s answered much of my chronic pain- my mind forced me to go onwards without processing traumas-

[@ashleyknight1384]

Ive just starteded my second week in a degree in health science in order to help set up frameworks to treat psychosomatic illnesses! Thank you very much for this, the pathway isnt very clear tet but this really helps!

[@QWERTZ-NOOB]

If you really want to help patients you should forget about all this pseudoscientific mind-over-matter mumbo jumbo doctors and psychologist make up so they don't have to admit how clueless they really are collectively. In the hard sciences every student learns right from the start that correlation is not causation and absence of evidence is not evidence. Recent studies show that biological and physical factors play a much greater causal role in these illnesses than previously believed. In the history of medicine almost every disease has at some time been thought to be psychogenic or psychosomatic in nature but to this day there's still literally no evidence for any psychogenic theory of illness.

[@makasia_x]

Probs to my mum for supporting me and told me that she loves me and that I am a wonderful person and then helped me change school because I had trouble with bullying!

[@gardenandcalico]

I got diagnosed with Neurally Mediated Hypotension (which is the same category as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) a few years ago, but every doctor I went to said it was depression. The problem is, all the "depression symptoms" didnt start until after the fainting spells started wreaking havoc on my life. So I had cardio and pcp sending me to psych for depression, and psych sending me back because they said I wasn't really showing depression just a reaction to the situation. Now I just deal w it, do yoga and holistic med, and dont bother seeing any doctors 😂 I always say I'll go to the doc if I'm bleeding or broken but not for anything they can’t see

[@do9291]

Look into Dr. Nicole LePera (psychologist)- see said that she used to faint before she discovered she had unresolved trauma

[@QWERTZ-NOOB]

@@do9291 That's just more proof than psychologists are all nuts themselves and practitioners of a pseudoscience. They would do less harm by making horoscopes.

[@MichaelNerman]

Thanks for the nuanced approach to psychosomatic illness. I was frustrated a couple times in other videos when you said x leads to chronic fatigue.

[@Dsworn]

He gets so exited about the details love it !

[@coredeadman5980]

Yeah, often i feel like doctors say its all psychosomatic if they don't care to think long enough what the actual problem could be.

[@Faller31]

You are such an amazing teacher. thanks for everything !

[@connorholmes8786]

Absolute masterpiece once again, I feel more like myself already and have laughed so much it’s amazing. Going to bed early tonight after watching, contemplating, & APPLYING that beautiful vid about how self compassion alone isn’t enough.. fat thank you to you, the team, and the community as a whole 🤝

[@skullshapedbox]

After having so many doctors mistreat me, abuse me, neglect me, and discount my symptoms and experiences...and after a life of going through much ofnthe same with every trusted individual...i started reading about the mind-body connection. Now it makes so much sense. It sounds woo-woo, but...whenever i am on the "wrong path" (ie doing something that harms me spiritually/emotionally/physically/mentally) my knee problems get so much worse and the abdomninal shit gets worse.

[@therealjordiano]

I love the entertaining way you present this sorta stuff, fascinating material, 10/10 full texan accent

[@Ashtray888]

OHHHHHH so THATS why I feel like I have the adrenaline levels of someone being hunted for sport while I’m just chillin in my room trying to paint a painting and watch KZbin, because I DO have the adrenaline levels of someone being hunted for sport 😅😅 thank you homie u just saved my life with this video I’m not even joking, sitting here with the diagnoses of anxiety depression ptsd borderline personality GERD IBS not diagnosed with pots but I just realized when I would stand up and get faint I was always extra anxious or stressed like I fr might owe you my life, my organs thank you for your service. You’re saving lives and have done more for me in like 3 months since I found your channel than literally 20 years of therapy since I was a kid ever did like this just saved me from so many more years of therapy. I had Kawasaki Disease when I was 5 and I was really medically traumatized by the whole thing especially bc my dad got mad at the doctors and wasn’t allowed to visit and it was just very bad and my IV kept failing and I was freaking out by the third one kicking and screaming and even after that I was frequently sick, i eventually got used to them and enjoyed watched them do it and as a child would critique the nurses technique and knew which veins on both arms and hands were good, and where valves that hurt bad were so I was picky about them and I’ve been asked as an adult if I was ever a IV drug user because of the scars on my favorite vein and when I was a kid and feeling anxious I started self harming and giving myself bruises with heavy objects trying to break bones then cutting at 11 and frequent trips to the hospital especially as a teenager because I felt sick always and had a few suicide attempts and there was custody issues bc my dad wanted me to get help with my health and my mom was really awful to me and I was very reckless with drugs and my life and really probably fucked with my fear chemicals because since I was so reckless and dealt with lots of traumas and adversity and depression and sickness it makes sense why it wasn’t a clear medical reasoning why. my parents would say I was faking everything for attention and doctors said I was lying, to this day my dad believes I faked most everything besides the medical issues that they could diagnose that were just the results of the high adrenaline like I can’t even imagine how much I have built up right now still and I felt like a hypochondriac my whole life because of it even when then had esophagus when I was 14 from all my GERD issues and it was awful because in kindergarten through highschool I was alwyas going to the school nurse feeling sick and throwing up. It was an every day thing in elementary school but they eventually were like no you have to go back to class unless I was puking and I could make myself puke mentally with barely any effort if I had a meal so I would puke lunch and spend recess with the nurse and I was bulimic without knowing what that was because I was a child and even I learned what bulimia was in middle school i did it still and tried to stop because I felt guilty but it was like my way out and my tummy felt upset and being in class was way too much anxiety for me but yeah once I was in middle school it was a mix of the nurse and school counselors nearly daily, and put into special classes that were online and all on my own in the media center with the other anxious and autistic kids and I loved all of them they were a hoot lol but it was just isolating socially besides that small group through graduation. I to this day don’t have friends. I’ve lost jobs because of my stomach aches and ibs and nausea and it has been hell searching for answers this is like a prayer being answered for me I seriously mean that I am so so glad I found your channel this is the answer of all my questions I’ve been looking for desperately my entire life. 🫡🫶🙌👑 Dr.K more like Dr.King

[@sheryldoggett7381]

My concern will the notion that illness is psychosomatic is this. Many doctors call it psychosomatic without investigating, especially concerning absominal issues. My brother and sister almost had ruptured appendix because no investigation was done until they had high fever. I went with abdominal problems until I found out peppers were from the nightshade family. I'm allergic to tomatoes which are nightshades. Once I stopped eating peppers, my stomach problems cleared. I'd been told all my life my stomach problems were psychosomatic. Investigate first.

[@AlexaVonSuess]

That's my concern - especially for women, trans, and nonbinary people. Our pain often just gets brushed to the side and we're told to go to therapy when some of us actually have real solvable time sensitive health issues that are just harder to diagnose. It took years for me to get diagnosed with biliary chronic pancreatitis and it was only until I became jaundiced that anyone took me seriously. By then, permanent damage to my pancreas as well as damage to my liver was already done.

[@prestigegovernmentrelation3024]

The great majority of individuals dx with POTS or other symptoms ALSO have autoimmune or medical conditions, so as you’re trying to bridge the gap, we still need to look at the whole body system. Our brain is connected to our body and now medical trauma is a PTSD qualifier. We cannot separate. I’m a therapist that specializes in this intersection of chronic illness and trauma. I appreciate this lecture.

[@chickensforbreakfast]

I have a few psychosomatic conditions. fibromyalgia, functional neurological disorder, pots, and ibs. now whilst these aren't all degenerative conditions on their own, in my personal experience, every traumatic event I've been through has permanently worsened my condition

[@AmusedAtMusing]

I’m sorry you’re dealing with those. It’s quite a challenge when they stack.😢 That combination happens to be commonly comorbid with the Hypermobility spectrum too. Reading about Hypermobility and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome might be particularly interesting for you! 😊

[@chickensforbreakfast]

@@AmusedAtMusing you're not the first person to mention that funny enough I have been considering the possibility because I am quite hypermobile too 😂

[@W1NK5Y]

im in the first 5 minutes and you just said everything I wish a dr could have said to me 4 years ago

[@Moto_Medics]

This is the best of your videos in a while imo not to talk crap on any others I just love this type of stuff

[@toddmccormick3107]

Thanks for everything that you put in here, and the work you're doing for all of us!! I love how you meld the two approaches to "health" together ❤️

[@onlybug3186]

I used to get psychosomatic hives that would grow big enough to cover my entire arm/leg. No doctor could ever tell me what was wrong until I talked to my therapist about it and it turns out these hives would come up when I was really stressed.

[@robertmoore2374]

Thank you for your videos and knowledge 🙏