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 591 practicing psychosomatic medicine doctors. Broken out by state, psychosomatic medicine doctor density in Alabama is 7, in Arizona is 18, in Arkansas is 4, in California is 82, in Colorado is 4, in Connecticut is 21, in District of Columbia is 11, in Florida is 20, in Georgia is 15, in Hawaii is 6, in Idaho is 1, in Illinois is 24, in Indiana is 4, in Iowa is 6, in Kansas is 5, in Kentucky is 4, in Louisiana is 6, in Maine is 4, in Maryland is 15, in Massachusetts is 45, in Michigan is 25, in Minnesota is 22, in Mississippi is 3, in Missouri is 10, in Nebraska is 1, in Nevada is 5, in New Hampshire is 4, in New Jersey is 29, in New Mexico is 5, in New York is 129, in North Carolina is 17, in Ohio is 28, in Oklahoma is 3, in Oregon is 4, in Pennsylvania is 36, in Rhode Island is 4, in South Carolina is 7, in Tennessee is 8, in Texas is 36, in Utah is 3, in Vermont is 2, in Virginia is 23, in Washington is 6, in West Virginia is 2, in Wisconsin is 15, and in Wyoming is 1.
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