What books on psychosomatics worth reading?
Those who are interested in the connection between psychology and disease know how difficult it is to find standing books on psychosomatics. And the point is not that such literature is scarce, just bookstores and the Internet are filled with a mass of publications, and it is very difficult to make a choice. Not all books are equally useful, not every one will find answers to your questions.
To facilitate the task of choice, we have compiled a list of the most useful and interesting books on the psychosomatic and psychological aspects of our diseases and diseases of children, which will be understandable even to beginners interested in this topic.
What is psychosomatics?
Psychosomatics (or psychosomatic medicine) is a field of medical knowledge in which physiology, anatomy and psychology are closely intertwined.
Simply put, it explains why "all diseases are from nerves." In order to fully understand this statement, it is important to understand how the soul and the body are interconnected.
Psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts have long been watching large groups of patients with the same medical diagnoses. They managed to find a lot of common personality traits, character, behavioral styles, emotional state among them. This is the basis of science, called psychosomatics.
In other words, it allows you to understand how and how a person makes this or that disease for himself. In a state of chronic stress inside the body, there is a mass of processes aimed at mobilization: adrenaline and cortisone are produced, muscles are tense.
If the stress is long-lasting, then the tension becomes almost constant, which causes impaired blood circulation, metabolism, and ultimately - the work of certain organs and systems. People create their illness with long-term fears and anger, aggression, resentment.
Sometimes they need diseases in order to achieve certain goals, for example, to attract attention, to control loved ones, to command them. Sometimes a disease is a departure from reality in which a person’s life becomes unbearable.
Problem detection and adequate psychotherapy can get rid of the disease, to find peace of mind and good physical shape.
What to read?
It is possible to recommend a certain book, but only taking into account the area of human interests. Some are looking for the answer to the question why they are sick and the drugs do not help, others are interested in child psychosomatics and are looking for the cause of the illness of their child. There are those who, with the help of psychosomatic knowledge, want to prevent illness, to live a long and healthy life.
Some people hope with the help of this knowledge not only to improve their health, but also to become happier, richer, to fulfill their cherished dreams, because the mechanisms for achieving goals and methods of obtaining health, in terms of psychology, are largely identical.
Some people are more knowledgeable in these areas, the knowledge of others in this is minimal.
In order to understand psychosomatics, it is not necessary to have a higher medical education. We need only a great desire and a good book that tells about everything available.
For beginners
Dmitry Leushkin "Turbo Gopher"
This book is perfect for people of young and middle age.Older people probably won't like it because it is written in a rough way. The author calls things by their own names, not looking for beautiful synonyms.
The main idea - the comprehension of his subconscious "I". The subconscious can find the answer to the questions, where illnesses and failures come from, and also tells you where to go in order to achieve freedom and fulfillment of all desires.
Leushkin tells how to properly set the task before the subconscious, so that the body starts working solely to make the goal a reality.
Leushkin suggests reprogramming the subconscious, eliminating all the devastating attitudes that live in it and prevent a person from being healthy and happy.
For the "flashing" of the subconscious, certain words, phrases, sentences are proposed that will launch the program, a person in fact does not need to do anything else.
But the words and programs are only free at the initial stage, then it is suggested to go to the Leushkin website and buy a more advanced version of the “flashing” there. In addition, there are many things in the book that, in principle, are contrary to medicine, psychotherapy and even common sense. But for those who want to know themselves, there is information useful for the initial stage, which does not go against science.
Alexander Lowen "Depression and the body"
The book is intended for all comers, written in simple and fascinating language. Its author is one of the founders of bioenergy, an experienced psychotherapist who perfectly understands what he is talking about and why he is doing it. The main idea - the human body like a musical instrument. If the instrument is tuned and a talented person plays on it, then the music sounds beautiful, if not tuned, you cannot play a melody on it, even if you are a great maestro.
Lowen gives practical advice on how to adjust your body, how to listen and hear its signals. The plus is that The book contains a large number of exercises that help restore their physical condition and emotional balance. in a variety of situations. They are combined with a psychotherapeutic approach, which is also important.
The book is easy to read and professionals, and beginners. The author tried to make it so that there were less professional psychotherapeutic terms in it, and more sincerity and examples. However, sometimes the writer goes deep into the origins of this or that problem, at such moments the reader may become bored. But only until the next exercise.
Liz Burbo "Listen to your body"
Canadian researcher Liz Burbo is one of the most famous figures in the world of psychosomatics. She is sure that any disease is a consequence of a violation of harmony within the person himself. The book helps to understand and discover the possible causes of the violation of delicate balance.
Written very easy and simple. To people experienced in psychology and literature on self-knowledge who have mastered Castaneda and Freud, the style of Burbo may seem childishly naive, but this is exactly what makes the book understandable to everyone without exception.
There are downsides. Need to say that The researcher does not have a medical education, therefore her reasoning about diseases is not always correct and logical.. According to experts, it gives a lot of general information about positive thinking, but specifies little.
However, many argue that her books have become desktop for them, since they make it easier to experience the most difficult events in life.
Vladimir Levi "Errors of health", "Non-standard child"
The author of the books is the Soviet psychotherapist Vladimir Levy, who could write simply about the complex. These books, like his other works, belong to the category of popular psychology, they will be interesting to a wide circle of readers. Diseases are mistakes, the author believes, which can and should be corrected..
Written easily and naturally, read in the same breath, leave a great understanding of the subject matter and the desire to right now change yourself, your mood, your views, attitude. Concrete tips, exercises, techniques are given..
But the books are not designed for a savvy reader who is well acquainted with more serious and deep professional literature on psychology and psychotherapy.
Valery Sinelnikov "Love your disease"
Psychotherapist Valery Sinelnikov suggested not to deal with ailments, but to thank them, since each disease is a hint of the subconscious. Acceptance and awareness of the problem that caused the disease, according to the author, is the key to successful disposal of them.
Very interesting and easy to read.. The book is compiled in the form of a dialogue with the reader, replete with examples from the medical practice of the doctor, which illustrate his thoughts and beliefs. There are exercises and trainings, as well as methods of communication with your own subconsciousthat facilitates self-diagnosis of problems without the help of a psychotherapist in reality.
The inconvenience is that there is no alphabetical list of diseases. To find a specific, you have to read the whole section. The doctor quite accurately indicates the causes of illness and trouble, but, unfortunately, little attention is paid to explaining why everything happened, why this particular disease began..
In general, the book is excellent, like all written by Sinelnikov.
Louise Hay "Heal Your Body"
The author tried to give answers to two important questions: why it hurts and how to cure. The book is presented in a simple and understandable language, it does not contain complex terms that are incomprehensible to many.
It is easy to read, fascinating, there are many useful tips. Each problem was offered its own solution, given positive attitudes - affirmations, which can be used every day and change your mind, thereby solving the main problem.
The downside is that the tables of causes of diseases are compiled without taking into account individual characteristics and circumstances. Few people can be satisfied with such an explanation of the illness as “hidden fear” or “suppressed shame”. I would like more specifics.
But Louise Hay is loved not only for her diagnosis, but even more so for positive psychotherapy.
For psychologists and trained readers
Those who are familiar with psychology or are interested in self-knowledge, can be advised to read the books of Gregory and Irina Semchuk, for example, “Psychoanalysis of Diseases or Nepsychosomatics in Practical Application”.
Learning to control thoughts and emotions, better understand the subtle mechanisms and principles of interaction between the soul and body will help famous authors in psychosomatics: Franz Alexander ("Psychosomatic medicine: principles and practical application"), German neurologist and psychiatrist Nossrat Peeshkian ("Psychosomatics and Positive Psychotherapy").
Can be recommended for reading and books on the practical psychology and psychosomatic nature of the diseases of the psychologist, Doctors of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Irina Germanovna Malkina-Pykh ("Psychosomatics", "Techniques of Positive Therapy and NLP", "Diseases of the skin. Free and forget. Forever", "Diabetes. Free and forget. Forever" and others). The list can be continued, since there are many interesting and well-written works written in this area.