[Ongoing conflict situations and physical disease]

In most cases psychosomatic patients are not vitally threatened. Nevertheless almost half of the emergency patients have got psychical disturbances (e.g. neurotic heart disease, states of hyperventilation or vertigo). A reason is not only the personal development of early childhood. More often the problems are to be found within strained relations. The physical illness can be conceived as an (unconscious) attempt to master a conflict or loss, as narcissistic reparation, as adaption-effort or even as self destruction Selye's theory of stress presents the linkage between the organ pathology and the influence of the psychosocial situation. Examples of medical cases explain these correlations.