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Management of the Psychological Aspects of Asthma
by Tom Alter
Asthma is a disease that was for a long time considered to be governed by the
malfunctioning of the nervous system. For this reason in the old texts this
disease is mentioned as Asthma nervosa. Only when it was completely established
that this was not entirely true, this practice was discontinued.
However it is still considered to be a disease that has some connection with the
emotional state of the patient. Many patients do show marked changes in their
psychological behavior once they are diagnosed with asthma. Also some studies
have established that people with certain temperaments and personality traits
are more likely to catch asthma.
The studies by Dr. Bastian’s and Dr. Groen in 1955 and Dr. S. B. Singh in 1977
highlight the personality traits of the people who are most likely to develop
asthma. These traits are classified as:
- Excessive egocentric behavior.
- Marked tendency for dominating behavior.
- Marked tendency for impatient and impulsive behavior.
- Reduced capacity for adapting and adjusting to unfavorable circumstances in life.
- High emotional sensitivity.
- Excessive need for love and affection.
- Very stubborn attitude.
- Very strong reactions to rivalry and jealousy.
- Lack of communication with other people.
- Over anxious nature.
- Lack of self-confidence.
- Deep rooted dependency.
- High incidence of behavioral problems.
It was also observed that the attitude of parents whose children develop asthma
is also to be blamed to a certain degree. Generally it is seen that the attitude
of the mother has greater influence than the attitude of the father. As opposed
to the popular belief of rejection from the parents, it is seen that the kids
who develop asthma have overprotective mothers who encourage very high
dependence from the children.
This is done in order to satisfy some hidden emotional desires of dependence and
emotional connectivity on the part of the parent. The parents also showed
development of superegos and excessive anxieties and transferred these traits to
their children subconsciously through faulty parenting practices.
Since the above-mentioned inclinations are more or less indicative of clear
tendencies there are specific situations of aggravation arising from patients
who have been diagnosed with asthma. There are indications that the disease
aggravates with anxiety, tension and emotional disturbances the management of
asthmatic condition on a psychological level becomes very necessary for the
well-being of the patients.
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