Psychosomatics deals with the effects of psychological processes, mostly some kind of psychological stress, on bodily diseases in terms of causation, codetermination, and progression.Many irrational and obscure ideas exist about how such effects may be exerted. The book tries to convey a scientifically based, i.e. rational conception of the ways psychological processes may lead to bodily diseases by trying to identify the single biological steps im- plied. After a short history of the field up to its final incorporation into the medical sciences the psychoanalytical approach and its more recent contender, behavioral medicine, are portrayed. The list of psychosomatic diseases dealt with in the book includes Coronary Disease, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Bronchial Asthma, Eating Disorders, Pain Symptoms, and Sleep Disorders. The book concludes with a list of possible mechanisms by which psychological causes may contribute to bodily diseases and an analysis of the logic and relevance of the so-called placebo response, the most common psychological effect alleviating bodily malfunctions.>
