PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS
A physical illness caused by the mind. "Psycho" means mind and "somatic" means body, so the word simply says mind-body. The illness is real and shows in the body, but what is producing it is a past moment of pain that the person is still carrying.
From the AOGP Abridged Scientology Dictionary — based on original LRH source materials, updated through 1982.
Usage
A recurring rash, a stomach that plays up under pressure or a headache that arrives on cue can all be of this kind. The complaint is genuine; it is where it comes from that is different.
Why It Matters
A large share of ordinary complaints turn out to be of this sort, which is why auditing so often has physical results people did not expect. Nothing here suggests a person should not see a doctor.
Related Concepts
- SOMATIC — Physical pain or discomfort of any kind, especially painful or uncomfortable physical perceptions stemming from the Reactive Mind.
- CHRONIC SOMATIC — A pain or physical discomfort a person has all the time rather than now and then — the shoulder that always aches, the headache that is always somewhere nearby.
- REACTIVE MIND — That portion of a person's mind which works on a stimulus-response basis (given a certain stimulus, it gives a certain response) which is not under his volitional control and which exerts force and the power of command…
- ENGRAM — A mental image picture of an experience containing pain, unconsciousness and a real or fancied threat to survival.
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