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Treatment of Psychosomatic Symptoms

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Medically Unexplained Symptoms

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Abstract

People with psychosomatic symptoms do best within a structured lifestyle that includes regular physical exercise, adequate time for sleep, healthy eating habits and stress management techniques such as mindfulness, yoga and tai chi. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help patients recognize and modify thoughts and activities that trigger symptoms. Numerous drugs, including antidepressants, antiepileptics and anxiolytics, are used to treat psychosomatic symptoms, but none have been dramatically effective. A major limitation of these drugs is “off-target effects” that lead to bothersome side effects and variable response. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are promising new treatments for a variety of psychosomatic illnesses, but well-controlled treatment trials are needed to access efficacy and safety.

It may well be to the shareholder’s advantage for pharmaceutical companies to promote medications for an ever-increasing array of human problems, but this in no way insures that these constitute improvements in health and medical care.

Peter Conrad [1]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Robert W. Baloh

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  1. Robert W. Baloh
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Correspondence to Robert W. Baloh .

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Baloh, R.W. (2021). Treatment of Psychosomatic Symptoms. In: Medically Unexplained Symptoms. Copernicus, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59181-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59181-6_10

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  • Publisher Name: Copernicus, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-59180-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-59181-6

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