Vertigo is a symptom that more and more people have today. Initially, it is defined as a sense of loss of balance or the perception that “everything is spinning”. According to a study published in the journal?(1), up to a third of people, vertigo is not caused by organic reasons, i. e. it is caused by psychological conditions. Similarly, a neuropsychological study of M. Dietrich (2) revealed that between 30 and 40% of vertigo cases are of mental origin.
People who suffer from non-organic vertigo define it in many ways, they say it is an accumulation of sensations, including: nausea, fear, insecurity, numbness, dizziness, feeling discolored or unreal, weakness, weakness, accelerated heart rate, desire. urinate or feel inside the boat or walk on cotton.
- It is not a constant situation.
- But only happens in a few moments.
- That is.
- Epidemics ?.
- Which are usually triggered or accentuated by specific circumstances.
- This circumstance can be an agglomeration of people.
- A bright floor or with drawings of geometric figures.
- A road.
- A sloped space and much more.
- Because vertigo attacks are unpredictable.
- This condition is very disabling for people.
- Who are often locked in their homes and refuse to leave.
There seems to be agreement among experts that when vertigo is not due to an organic disease it is caused by a state of anxiety, what is not remembered is how to interpret this anxiety and, therefore, there is also no agreement on how best to act. In all cases, even if there is no accurate knowledge, it is known that this symptom usually occurs after a stress attack, from loss, separation, illness of a loved one or high pressure at work.
Vertigo is sometimes part of so-called panic attacks, at other times it is an independent symptom that can cause panic or become a new source of symptoms, such as frequent headaches or nausea, the most common in both cases being the fact that diagnostic investigations do not reveal any ear or brain disease that justifies these sensations.
Episodes of vertigo can be mild or very severe, do not seem to follow a specific pattern, and greatly haunt those who possess them, because you never know when they will happen; in general, they change a person’s life to varied ones. creating fear of fainting, losing control or falling at any time.
While psychiatry and psychology exclusively associate vertigo with depression and stress, psychoanalysis considers it a symbolic representation of a state of mind, Alfred Adler (3) studied this symptom in detail and concluded that what is expressed is a hidden desire to get out of a situation Is it a disorder?and, for that very reason, it manifests itself as a perception that “everything circulates”.
Adler points out that the symptom occurs in the face of an external demand, that the person feels excessive in relation to his own abilities, this application can be professional, family, sexual, emotional or of any kind. The person does not know the reasons, so psychogenic vertigo develops.
Basically, the person is afraid to fall, that is, to make it clear that he cannot meet external demand, which would end any prestige obtained, so it is perceived as a ‘fall’. This situation is the result of a feeling of unconscious inferiority.
The inside of the person feels that he is not capable, but this is not necessarily true, he may be able, and many, but doubts are stronger, the most complicated thing is that he does not recognize this insecurity, which makes every situation manifested in the form of vertigo.
In particular, people with psychogenic dizziness fear losing control when they are in public or when they are completely alone. They fear falling into a situation of extreme vulnerability. For Adler, the solution is to assume what you’re running from, but it’s hard for the person to do it on their own. It is advisable to seek professional help or participate in a therapeutic group.
(1) Tschan and J. Wiltink. Sommets. In Mind and Brain Magazine, No. 55, 2012, Barcelona (76-79)
(2) Dieterich M, Eckhardt-Henn A. Neurological and somatomorphic dizziness syndromes 2004; 75 (3): 281-302
(3) Alfred Adler. (1959). The Neurotic Character. Buenos Aires: Paidas