Page 12 - Int Autoimmune Institute Booklet

PSYCHOTHERAPY’S ROLE IN
PHYSICAL HEALING

It is normal to have emotional responses to
illness, injury or life events. Your medical
condition may create a variety of emotions,
such as confusion, anger, fear or hopelessness,
as well as place stress on relationships, finances
or your ability to work. You may also have
normal, ongoing stresses in your life, such
as an aging parent, marriage difficulties, or a
frustrating career. These emotions produce a
physical and chemical reaction in the body.

When these types of emotions are not
addressed or managed, they can negatively
impact your ability to heal and maintain
health. A growing body of scientific evidence
links psychological suffering with a restricted
ability to heal. In addition, it is believed that
ongoing emotional and psychological disease
can create physical disease in the body.

We also routinely address Adverse Childhood
Events (ACE). It has been shown that events
occuring during a person’s childhood, like a
parent’s divorce, separation, substance abuse,
incarceration, and also physical, emotional,
verbal, sexual abuse, or trauma, can drive the
development of chronic diseases later in life
including autoimmune diseases. Some adverse
childhood events have been shown to increase
the chances of developing an autoimmune
disease by more than 50%.