Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS)
and Chronic Pain

Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS) is a term used by medical professionals when they cannot find an organic cause for a person’s pain or physical symptoms. You might have had numerous tests and examinations, but there does not appear to be a medical condition to explain the pain. Doctors can’t find a problem with the part of your body that may be the cause. This doesn’t mean the symptoms are not real. They are real and they can affect your ability to function properly. You might even have been told ‘it’s all in your head’, leaving you feeling misunderstood, frustrated and still in pain. Not understanding the cause can make it even more distressing and difficult to cope with. Pain is not the only symptom that can cause you a great deal of distress especially when the doctor cannot find clear organic pathology.

 

It could be that you struggle with tiredness, breathlessness, heart palpitations, stomach issues, numbing and tingling of your fingers or feet. Even your skin could be flaring up for no known medical reason. Persistent physical symptoms can cause depression and anxiety, and these can in turn make the symptoms worse, creating a vicious cycle. You might have been told you have chronic fatigue syndrome CFS) – also known as ME, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or fibromyalgia (pain in any part of the body) or many other syndromes, even multiple sclerosis or auto-immune disorders. You might be asking 'how can psychotherapy cure my physical pain?'

 

There are a number of ways that these symptoms and conditions can be successfully treated in psychotherapy. In therapy we target the mind to heal the body. This might sound woo-woo or silly, but the mind and body are intimately connected and one affects the other. The reason that the doctor cannot find a cause is because there is a bodily disturbance going on at a cellular level. It could be on such a microscopic level that it cannot be seen on a scan or felt by a physical examination. We cannot separate the mind from the body or the body from the mind. I will help you get to the root cause of your pain and work with you to achieve mental, emotional and physical well-being.