Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions: Information, Symptoms, Treatment and More

Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions is a condition that is diagnosed when an individual’s behaviour or attitude has a negative impact on a physical medical health disorder that they have.

For instance, someone with Diabetes may refuse to accept the need to alter their diet, and adopt an attitude of believing treatment isn’t needed. Another example would be when someone exhibits extreme stress, which can worsen heart-related issues. This behaviour will normally lead to the worsening of their medical condition.

These examples can be applied to countless scenarios, and ultimately raises the chance of a patient exacerbating their illness, along with increasing the likelihood of either permanent damage or even death.

Treatment is available for the condition, and should lead to an individual maximising their chances of recovering from their medical condition. This is a type of a Somatic Disorder.

What are the symptoms of Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions?

The symptoms of this condition revolve around an individual’s behaviour, actions or attitude having a negative impact on a medical health disorder they have. The vast majority of illnesses can be affected negatively by such attitudes and behaviour.

There are a wide range of possible symptoms of this condition, some of the possible areas are listed below.  

Symptoms

• Ignoring the fact that a medical illness is present
• Refusing to believe symptoms are present
• Believing symptoms aren’t serious enough to warrant changing habits or entering treatment plan
• Continuing to deny severity of symptoms even after multiple trips to hospital
• Directly ignoring a Doctor’s advice
• Going rogue on a prescribed treatment plan – choosing their own way to treat themselves
• Refusing to attend medical examinations
• Sometimes, exhibiting extreme stress
• Feelings of anxiety

These symptoms will typically lead to negative changes for the individual. Commonly, their medical illness will worsen, causing an increase in pain and suffering.

The person will run the risk of seeing their symptoms worsen, and risk permanent damage and even death. It can be very difficult for family members and friends to witness this. The person may not realise that their psychological feelings are causing physical ailments.

It is important to note that these are not an exhaustive list of symptoms. There is a huge array of ways an individual can act that will result in a negative reaction to their medical illness.

What are the causes of Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions?

It isn’t entirely known what causes Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions. It appears that many factors may contribute to the onset of the condition.

But there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, with each person with the disorder often having different causes for their actions.

In some people, anxiety plays a big role. People with feelings of anxiety may fear attending hospitals, and refuse to believe that a serious illness is present.

Denial is an important part of this condition for many, with the unfortunate belief that as long as they don’t admit something is wrong, that nothing will happen. Those with a lack of emotional support may particularly be at risk in this respect.

Similarly, family dysfunction may act as a contributory factor. Alternatively, some people may choose to ignore medical advice due to personal feelings. Some may feel that they would rather risk serious illness or even death rather than change their habits. While this may seem extreme, it is somewhat understandable that someone would wish to enjoy a shorter life, than stop doing things they want to and live longer.

Another aspect of this condition is the appearance of low mood. Those that have long-term feelings of low self-esteem or helplessness may struggle to motivate themselves to deal with their condition.

Another possible cause is those that dislike healthcare professionals believing they are not being truthful – leading to the individual taking matters into their own hands.

Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions is a very complex condition. There can be a huge range of causes, with individual circumstances contributing to each case. So many factors go into this condition, it is difficult to provide a broad overview.

Diagnosis of Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions

It is important for anyone that believes they are suffering from Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions to see a Doctor.

As the person involved will rarely see the damage being caused by their behaviour, it will commonly be down to a family member or close friend to urge them to see a Doctor. At first, a person should speak to a Doctor.

At an appointment, a Doctor will attempt to gain a thorough understanding of an individual’s symptoms, and the effect they are having on both their illness, and their wider life. The patient should be encouraged to be as honest as possible.

It is normally quite obvious when this condition is present, with its symptoms relatively simple to spot for trained health professionals.

In terms of the actual symptoms, for Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions to be diagnosed, a patient will satisfy the following criteria:

• Having a medical illness that is not a mental health condition
• Individual exhibits attitudes, behaviours or actions that negatively affect the medical condition
• Illness will typically worsen due to behaviours, or at least will have its treatment plan disrupted. In some cases, the individual will refuse to acknowledge the presence of symptoms, or directly ignoring the advice of a Doctor
• These factors cannot be better explained by the presence of a different mental disorder

In order to assist the diagnosis, it will be common for a family member or close friend to help explain the damage of an individual’s behaviour, and the effect it has on others.

How is Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions treated?

Treatment is available for Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions. In many instances, if an individual is motivated, their psychological symptoms will lessen, leading to their chance of recovering from their medical condition being maximised.

Treatment normally involves talking therapy. If an individual is very anxious, or exhibits low mood, medication may be recommended too. The exact treatment course is dependent on individual circumstances and general health.

Talking Therapy

Talking therapy is an important part of treatment. There are several different forms of talking therapy, with each case’s circumstances needed to be taken into account.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT is a type of therapy that is used to treat a range of mental health conditions. CBT involves an individual talking face-to-face with a therapist, although sometimes CBT can be conducted in a group setting. CBT attempts to improve an individual’s wellbeing and mood. The therapy focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings and actions. This can be useful for those with low self-esteem, anxiety, unhelpful personality traits or intrusive thoughts. CBT can help an individual understand their feelings more, and in the long run should lead to an improvement in quality of life.

Family Therapy: Family therapy is a form of therapy that is delivered with close family members. The therapy can focus on how a person’s actions have caused problems for their wider family. In many cases, the family will be told not to condone nor reward behaviour that is associated with their problematic behaviour. In theory, by seeing the damage their behaviour can cause, this can help the individual change their behaviour.

There are many different types of talking therapies, with any type of therapy offering useful ways to help. We have more information in our dedicated Therapy section.

Medication

In cases where an individual exhibits severe anxiety or low mood, medication can help to alleviate symptoms and make them likelier to engage in treatment.

Antidepressants: Antidepressants can help to improve and regulate mood. They should improve motivation and restore energy. SSRI Antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed. They act on the brain chemical serotonin – which is thought to help in regulating mood and emotion. They may include side-effects such as a dry mouth, sexual problems and nausea, though these should hopefully be short-term. Other classes of antidepressants are available in the event of an inadequate reaction.

Other

Importantly, treatment for the main medical condition will need to continue at the same time. This may include physiotherapy, diet control, or other interventions.

A combination of treatments, targeting a broad spectrum of symptoms, can certainly prove useful in treating this condition.

Summary

Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions is a very serious condition. It can have severe ramifications, and can result in premature death in severe cases.

Crucially, help is available, and can lead to an improvement in psychological state. This can subsequently lead the individual to maximise their chances of recovering from their main health condition, and lead a higher quality of life.

As the great physician Hippocrates said, “It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than what sort of disease a person has.” With the right motivation, anything is possible.

For more information, take a look around our website.

See Also

• Somatic Disorders Section
• What is the Prognosis for Somatic Disorders?
• Therapy Homepage
• Medicine Homepage