Psychosomatic medicine deals with physical disorders that are also called psychophysiologic disorders, or somatoform disorders. An illness may be considered psychosomatic when it seems to result from strong emotional conditions such as anxiety, trauma, depression, anger or guilt, rather than a physical cause. A physician who specializes in psychosomatic medicine will first test the patient to rule out physical causes. A psychosomatic illness will often respond to pain medication or other medical help, but psychological assessment is required to find the underlying cause of the illness.
Some psychosomatic illnesses are irritable bowel syndrome, upset stomach, muscle aches, tension headaches, panic attacks, colitis and ulcers, and even infertility. Psychological stress can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system and lower energy levels, allowing the body to create or worsen physical diseases. The way a person handles stress often affects the severity of psychosomatic illnesses.
Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 480 practicing psychosomatic medicine doctors. Broken out by state, psychosomatic medicine doctor density in Alabama is 7, in Arizona is 16, in Arkansas is 4, in California is 61, in Colorado is 3, in Connecticut is 17, in District of Columbia is 10, in Florida is 17, in Georgia is 14, in Hawaii is 6, in Idaho is 1, in Illinois is 20, in Indiana is 3, in Iowa is 5, in Kansas is 5, in Kentucky is 2, in Louisiana is 6, in Maine is 4, in Maryland is 14, in Massachusetts is 46, in Michigan is 25, in Minnesota is 22, in Mississippi is 3, in Missouri is 10, in Nebraska is 1, in Nevada is 4, in New Hampshire is 4, in New Jersey is 19, in New Mexico is 5, in New York is 115, in North Carolina is 16, in Ohio is 24, in Oklahoma is 3, in Oregon is 4, in Pennsylvania is 30, in Rhode Island is 4, in South Carolina is 6, in Tennessee is 6, in Texas is 33, in Utah is 3, in Vermont is 2, in Virginia is 19, in Washington is 4, in West Virginia is 2, in Wisconsin is 14, and in Wyoming is 1.
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