More and more people experience sensations in their body that doctors cannot explain through physiology alone: chest tightness, stomach aches, headaches, skin reactions. This does not mean that the symptoms are "in our heads." It means that the body participates actively in how we process our emotions.

Psychosomatics explores precisely this connection – what happens when the psyche cannot bear the tension and it crosses over into the body. Bodily symptoms are a message from the unconscious to the conscious mind; they tell us that some experience was once missed or left unprocessed (Peseschkian, 2003).

When Words Are Absent

Generally speaking, bodily symptoms appear where words are absent. When a person cannot name their emotion or turn it into a thought, the body becomes the only "speaker." Instead of "I am angry," a tightness appears in the stomach. Instead of "I am afraid," back pain arrives.

Bion answers this question through projective identification: the infant projects feelings that cannot yet be understood or expressed in words onto the mother. If she is "good enough," she can contain, modify, and return these projections in such a way that they become tolerable to the child's psyche (Bion, 1962). If this does not happen, the emotions remain "locked" in the psyche or manifest in the body as symptoms.

In other words, psychosomatic symptoms often carry hidden meaning – they are a reflection of experiences and emotions that were never contained and modified during early development.

The Hidden Meaning of the Symptom

The symptom has a dual function:

• Regulatory function – the body allows the psyche to "evacuate" inexpressible emotions that might be destructive if they remained only in the mind.
• Semiotic function – the symptom is a signal of an inner conflict or traumatic experience that the body conveys to the outside world and to the individual themselves.

In Peseschkian's words, the symptom is not only a sign of inner distress but also an invitation to pay attention to experiences that have been excluded from consciousness.

How Therapy Helps

• Creating a safe space where the patient can express what is unconscious.
• Transforming unrecognised emotions into thoughts and symbols.
• Connecting bodily reactions to the inner world and turning them into meaning.

"Bodily symptoms are not a whim but a message – they tell us that there was once no one to contain our emotions, or there was, but they did not know how"

(The Global Psychotherapist)

Common Psychosomatic "Signals"

• The stomach – often reacts to unrecognised anger and tension.
• The skin – reflects a sense of lack of protection or safe closeness.
• Headaches – sometimes accompany suppressed guilt, self-blame, or excessive control.
• Palpitations – arise when fear has no name.

References

1. Wilfred Bion. (1962). Learning from experience. London: Heinemann.
2. Winnicott, D. (2008). From Paediatrics to Psycho-Analysis. Sofia: Centre for Psychosocial Support.
3. Catalina Bronstein. (2010). On psychosomatics. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 91(5), 1077–1095.
4. Peseschkian, N. (2003). Psychosomatics and Positive Psychotherapy – Volume 2. Varna: Slavena.