1.Asthma is a common disease
Asthma is a common disease and a chronic airway inflammation involving a variety of cells, especially mast cells, eosinophils and T lymphocytes. According to statistics, there are about 20 million patients in China. The factors of the disease include genetic factors, allergens, infections and psychosocial factors.
Asthma is extremely painful and nearly half of them start before the age of three and can only relieve symptoms, not cure them completely.
This means that most people with asthma are controlled by wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing for almost their entire lives, severely affecting their quality of life. Therefore, although we are not yet able to cure asthma completely, we must at least find effective treatment to prevent asthma attacks as much as possible, reduce the amount of medication used, reduce adverse drug reactions, and improve the quality of life of patients. However, the previous pharmacological treatment model does not meet the requirements of patients.
As early as the late 1930s, Freud and Alexander argued that the psychological component of asthma was primarily a subconscious conflict surrounding overdependence on the mother and fear of separation. With the development of medicine more and more studies have shown that about half of the asthma attacks are closely related to psychological factors and 20% of asthma is directly triggered by psychological factors. Experts in developed countries are beginning to recognize asthma as a classic psychosomatic disease. The interaction of allergy, infection and psychosocial factors is the basic cause of the development of asthma. This is why the World Health Organization’s standardized treatment protocol states that psychotherapy plays a crucial role in the treatment of asthma.
As early as the late 1930s, Freud and Alexander argued that the psychological component of asthma was primarily a subconscious conflict surrounding overdependence on the mother and fear of separation. By this century an increasing number of whistle-blowers recognized that psychosocial factors play an important role in the onset, development, regression and prognosis of asthma. To a large extent, asthma wheezing episodes and coughing symptoms are seen as “repressed cries” for attention and protection from others.
2. Common causes of asthma attacks
These psychosocial factors include emotional factors, life events, cognitive patterns, behavioral patterns, personality traits, etc.
First, strong mental or psychological stimulation is the most frequent psychosocial cause of asthma attacks. Nearly 70% of asthma patients have mild or severe depression, in addition to anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, and excitement that may lead to an asthma attack.
Various life events may also trigger asthma. Loss of love, loss of a spouse, family of origin, financial hardship, layoffs, stressful job promotions, interpersonal conflicts, and poor living conditions can all be causes of asthma attacks. Catastrophic events can also trigger asthma attacks. The incidence of asthma in New York increased by 27% in the weeks following 9/11. Some causes such as financial stress and learning difficulties can even increase the chances of death from asthma.
Faulty cognitive and behavioral patterns can also lead to frequent asthma attacks. Positive cognitive patterns, on the other hand, can reduce attacks and improve the quality of survival of patients. The internal beliefs of asthma sufferers are often catastrophic and often start to overstress before the actual danger has occurred. Asthma attacks may even be triggered by the realization that they forgot to carry their asthma spray.
Although all personality types are at risk for asthma, people with dependent, passive, sensitive, and emotionally unstable personality traits are more likely to develop asthma.
In addition to the efforts of the physician, the patient’s own efforts are more important in the treatment of asthma, and those dependent patients who place the responsibility for treatment entirely on the physician have the worst quality of life. People with these personality traits are not good at expressing their emotions in interpersonal relationships, are overly concerned with the opinions of others, often feel inferior in their interactions with others, often lack interpersonal security, and often have negative attitudes toward others and society. They are more likely to feel lonely and uncertain about their surroundings and future. Lacking a good social support system in their lives, they often desperately expect someone to really understand and care about them, and asthma becomes a way to attract others.
In addition to the efforts of the physician, the patient’s own efforts are more important in the treatment of asthma, and those dependent patients who place the responsibility for treatment entirely on the physician have the worst quality of survival.
Others may not lack sufficient attention, but rather receive too much attention during their life journey, especially in the early parent-child relationship. Those children or adults whose family relationships, especially mother-child relationships, are characterized by excessive care and dependency are not without examples of morbidity due to fear of separation. On the contrary, of course, overly strict parents can also lead to children with low self-esteem, repression, sensitivity, and more likely to become asthmatic.
3. Pay attention to psychological adjustment
Self-centered people are also more likely to be approached by asthma or more likely to have an attack when they become ill. They are often more likely than others to feel that they are not being given enough attention and to be anxious and resentful; they may also be more likely to believe their own ideas and not follow medical advice and to fail to receive the correct systematic treatment methods leading to an attack.
Psychosocial factors can contribute to the development of asthma, and likewise asthma may induce psychological disorders. Due to the reduced quality of life caused by asthma, patients are more likely to suffer from depression, phobias, and other psychological disorders. A small number of psychological disorders such as panic disorder are also misdiagnosed as asthma. In addition, some of the medications used to treat asthma, such as beta agonists and other drugs, may induce anxiety.
Therefore, in the treatment of asthma, we should pay full attention to the interrelationship between physiological-psychological-social, and in addition to the conventional anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy and immunotherapy methods there is also emphasis on psychological regulation and the rational use of psychiatric drugs.
Psychotherapy is not scary, if you face it squarely. I hope I can help you to do those things that you have not done and would like to do.