Psychosomatic Symptoms: What They Are, Why They Happen, and What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You
- Tanya Master
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Psychosomatic symptoms are physical sensations, tension, pain, or chronic patterns in the body that don’t have a clear medical explanation or don’t respond to the usual treatments.
People often describe these symptoms as:
“My doctor says everything is fine, but I know something is off.” “My body is reacting, but I don’t know why.” “Everything looks normal on paper… but I still don’t feel normal.”
In psychosomatic work, these symptoms aren’t seen as “in your head.” They’re the body’s way of expressing what hasn’t yet been processed, felt, or understood.
This article explains what psychosomatic symptoms really mean, why they happen, and how trauma-informed, somatic, and parts-based work helps people finally get relief.
What Are Psychosomatic Symptoms?
Psychosomatic symptoms are physical expressions of emotional, relational, or nervous-system stress.
Common examples include:
chronic skin flare-ups
migraines or pressure headaches
gut issues that don’t respond to typical treatments
hormonal shifts related to long-term stress
sleep disruption
jaw tension or teeth clenching
chronic exhaustion
emotional surges that feel “out of nowhere”
muscle tension, heaviness, or numbness
Psychosomatic symptoms don’t mean someone is imagining their pain. The body is simply carrying material the mind hasn’t had the capacity to feel, name, or work through.
Why Psychosomatic Symptoms Happen
Most psychosomatic symptoms come from unprocessed emotional material that moved into the body because there wasn’t enough safety, support, time, or capacity to feel it fully.
This can include:
Long-term stress or emotional overload
When someone stays strong, copes, performs, or holds things together for too long, the mind pushes overwhelming feelings out of the way so life can keep functioning.
Past trauma or unresolved experiences
Trauma lives in the body when the feelings that belonged to the past never had a chance to be felt. The body carries what the mind had to put aside.
Suppressed boundaries, needs, or emotions
Many people learn early in life to stay composed, be agreeable, or prioritise others. The body holds the cost of that.
Major transitions or “life pauses”
Symptoms often intensify when life slows down, such as:
illness
burnout or exhaustion
a breakup
job changes
moving countries
kids leaving home
periods of unexpected stillness
It’s not that the symptom got worse, it’s that the nervous system finally has space to surface what was held underneath.
Psychosomatic Symptoms vs. Medical Conditions
Psychosomatic symptoms can coexist with medical issues. They can also be the missing piece when medical treatment isn’t enough.
A psychosomatic approach does not replace medical care. But it adds another layer of understanding:
Why is this symptom showing up now?
What pattern does it follow?
What emotion, boundary, or part of you is it connected to?
What happens when we relate to it differently?
This is where psychosomatic therapy can create breakthroughs that purely medical or cognitive approaches cannot.
Why High-Functioning People Experience Psychosomatic Symptoms Most
In my practice, the people who experience psychosomatic symptoms most intensely are the ones who have spent years:
staying strong
staying composed
being reliable
holding emotional load for others
pushing through when they needed support
performing well under pressure
managing crises with no time to fall apart
These patterns help you survive — until they start making your system collapse under the weight of what hasn’t been felt.
A client will often say things like:
“I don’t have time to be tired.” “I’m fine — I just need to get through this week.” “It’s just stress.”
Meanwhile their body is signalling that something is not ok through:
migraines
digestive shutdown
adrenal fatigue
jaw tension
sudden floods of emotion
complete numbness
What Psychosomatic Symptoms Are Really Signalling
Psychosomatic symptoms often point to underlying patterns such as:
Unprocessed grief
Not only grief after loss — but grief from:
losing belonging
losing relationships you outgrew
decades of unmet needs
Suppressed anger
The kind that never had permission to exist.
Boundary violations
Times you said yes because saying no wasn’t safe.
Emotional compression
Years of “holding it together” for everyone else.
Parts of you that went unseen
IFS-informed work reveals these symptoms are often protective parts trying to be heard.
How Psychosomatic Work Helps
My psychosomatic approach blends:
somatic therapy
IFS-informed parts work
nervous-system mapping
relational and attachment-aware work
systemic and contextual clarity
The goal isn’t to “release” emotion. It’s to help your system come back into coherence, so your body and mind stop working against each other.
This looks like supporting you to:
1. Understand the message behind the symptom
Why this symptom? Why now? What part is behind it?
2. Build capacity in the nervous system
Not calming down — widening your window of tolerance so you can stay present with what arises.
3. Rebuild a relationship with the body
Learning to read sensations as intelligent signals rather than threats.
4. Give space to the parts that were never heard
The ones that protect you, hold grief, or carry your unmet needs.
When to Seek Support
Psychosomatic work may help if you’re navigating:
chronic symptoms without clear medical cause
emotional overwhelm that seems disproportionate
burnout that keeps returning
numbness, shutdown, or disconnection
repeating relational patterns
difficulty identifying your needs or boundaries
long-term stress that doesn’t ease with lifestyle changes
If your body is signalling something — it’s worth listening.
Learn More or Work Together
You can explore ways to work with me here: