Is Asthma Mostly A Psychological Disease?

No! Asthma is definitely not a psychological disease; it is a physical condition that affects the lungs and its bronchial passages. The concept that asthma is somehow a disease of the mind or an emotional disturbance is false (Table 54). A person experiencing difficulty breathing with cough, increased chest pressure, and wheezing is physically extremely uncomfortable.

It is very frightening not to be able to breathe normally and effortlessly, and to instead experience a sensation of oppression. The very real physical discomfort, coupled with the sensations of strenuous breathing, create an extremely unpleasant and very upsetting experience.

Until normal, unlabored, and comfortable breathing is reestablished, any person in the midst of an asthma exacerbation feels as if they are suffocating. It should come as no surprise that emotions of fear and even panic may occur under these circumstances. These misinterpreted emotional responses are a consequence of the exacerbated asthma symptoms and not the cause of the episode.

The observation that some persons with known asthma develop active symptoms after experiencing very strong emotion, such as shock or grief is another reason why asthma might wrongly be considered a psychological condition. The appropriate strong emotional response acts as a trigger for the development of asthma symptoms and is in no way the underlying cause of the asthma itself.

All of us realize that emotional upset can bring on physical symptoms. Some persons develop abdominal discomfort or even heartburn when confronted with a stressful situation, while others may experience a headache in similar circumstances. Similarly, some persons’ asthma symptoms may worsen when they confront a situation they experience as stressful. If that is the case, whether it is related to school, family members, coworkers, or others in your circle, it is important that you recognize the potential association between asthma symptoms and harmful stress.

Developing working strategies to effectively channel and manage such psychological stress, if present, should include your physician, as it is a component of contemporary comprehensive asthma care.

Gemma’s comment:

I’ve already indicated that, in my experience, with my own asthma and my daughter’s, doctors are slow to pick up on asthma symptoms if the patient does not really complain about them. But don’t let anyone talk you out of your symptoms or suggest that they are all in your head! Even an educated adult can have a confused reaction to the sense of suffocation that comes with breathlessness, as did one young friend of mine who mistakenly attributed her feeling of panic in the dirty, particle-laden air of a New York City subway to psychological causes.

She was starting a new job and, understandably, felt somewhat tense and nervous, but her breathing problems seemed out of line to her, inconsistent with her usual sensible self. After months of worry and seeing several doctors, the diagnosis of asthma really came as a relief and helped her dismiss her fear of a more amorphous, less explicable problem.