Many have experienced a condition such as dizziness. This complaint is often heard at an appointment with a therapist and a neurologist. With dizziness, everything begins to float before your eyes and spin, a person loses orientation in space. This can occur for various reasons, or it can be a symptom of a disease. Let's talk about what psychogenic dizziness is. Symptoms and treatment are also considered.
What is this pathology?
Let's start with the definition of dizziness. This condition is called vertigo. The feeling of involuntary rotation or movement of one’s own body in space or objects relative to one’s body is considered to be dizziness. At the same time, a person loses stability, balance, a feeling appears, as if the earth is leaving under his feet.
Dizziness is classified into the following groups:
- Central. The cause is a brain disease or injury.
- Peripheral. The cause is damage to the vestibular nerve or inner ear.
- Systemic The reason for the disruption in the work of any of the systems: visual, vestibular, muscle.
- Not a system one. The reasons are neurogenic.
Psychogenic dizziness should be attributed to the fourth group. Appears as a result of mental and neurotic disorders. This is especially observed during a period of severe unrest or after it. A synonym in medicine is considered to be “Phobically Postural Dizziness,” that is, depending on the vertical position of the body.
Pathology Features
Psychogenic dizziness has its own characteristics:
- It does not have a system.
- The occurrence of random and incorrect deviations within a few seconds.
- Sensation of impaired stability for 2-3 seconds.
- It occurs unexpectedly, but at the same time provoking factors may be present.
- All complaints are associated with dizziness that occurs while walking or while standing.
- May be combined with other types of disorders. Psychogenic dizziness will be secondary.
- There are no clinical and paraclinical signs of organic pathology.
- A feeling of anxiety or anxiety-depressive conditions accompany dizziness, but these factors may be absent.
Causes of Psychogenic Dizziness
As a rule, a high probability of psychogenic dizziness is observed in people predisposed to panic attacks. Most of all, women tend to this. Also, a sense of fear, anxious fears can be attributed to the causes of such dizziness.
Let us single out a few more reasons:
- Stressful situations.
- Overwork at work.
- Lack of sleep, insomnia.
- Excessive mental stress.
- A sharp change of position.
- Climate change.
- Hyperventilation syndrome.
- High blood pressure.
- Neuritis.
- Menopause in women.
- Motion sickness in transport, when riding on a swing.
- Intolerance to height.
As a rule, all these situations are connected with feelings or anxiety. And the fear of losing control over your body position, falling, and possibly getting hurt is also obvious.
Signs and symptoms of pathology
Dizziness of a psychogenic nature at the developmental stage has several signs:
- Efficiency decreases, fatigue increases.
- The mood worsens, irritability increases.
- Appetite either disappears or rises sharply.
- Sexual activity may decrease or increase dramatically.
Who has experienced psychogenic dizziness, patients describe the symptoms as follows:
- There is tinnitus, while hearing is not lost.
- Fog in the head.
- There is a feeling of instability, but this does not affect the gait.
- Attention is fully focused on noise and dizziness.
- There is increased anxiety.
- There is a lack of air.
- Cold sweat.
- Unclear, confused thinking.
These symptoms are also characteristic of panic attacks. You can still add a few characteristic symptoms:
- Heart palpitations.
- Perhaps trembling limbs, chills.
- "Formication.
- The irrational fear of impending misfortune.
- “Cottony” legs.
This condition can also cause memories of the traumatic situation.
Psychogenic dizziness is not caused by a violation of the vestibular apparatus, although the symptoms are very similar.
It should be noted that the psychogenic manifestations of these disorders can be called only if the patient recognizes the connection with the cause.
False symptoms of psychogenic dizziness
There are symptoms that patients mistakenly confuse with dizziness.
Here are some of them:
- The flickering of objects in the eyes.
- Doubling in the eyes.
- The appearance of a "grid" in front of the eyes.
- The appearance of nausea.
- Fainting condition.
- Feeling of instability.
- Feeling of "emptiness" in the head.
Diagnosis of the disease
With the question of how to treat psychogenic dizziness, you need to contact a therapist, who will then refer to narrow specialists:
- Otorhinolaryngologist.
- Neurologist.
- To the cardiologist.
- To the psychiatrist.
To find out the reasons, specialists can prescribe the following types of examinations:
- Computed tomography of the brain. It allows you to recognize abnormalities in the structure of the brain.
- Ultrasound of large arteries and blood vessels providing blood supply to the brain.
- X-ray examination of the skull and cervical spine.
- General and biochemical analysis of blood. Determination of blood glucose.
- Samples of equilibrium are required.
- Audiography.
- Definition of nystagmus.
At the initial stage of diagnosing psychogenic dizziness, the doctor should exclude all possible causes that are associated with a loss of balance.
These include:
- The defeat of the vestibular apparatus.
- Diseases in which one of the symptoms is loss of consciousness, fainting.
- Diseases of a neurological nature, which are accompanied by impaired walking, balance.
The above tests will help you find the true cause.
At the second stage, they diagnose neurotic disorders that arose as a result of the stress. As we found out earlier, the most common cause is panic attacks and anxiety-depressive disorder. How to get rid of psychogenic dizziness we will consider further.
Methods for the treatment of psychogenic dizziness
In a disease such as psychogenic dizziness, treatment includes non-drug and drug methods.
Non-drug treatment is a priority. It includes:
- Psychotherapy.
- Gymnastic exercises to improve the vestibular apparatus.
- Breathing exercises. Helps to cope with increased vascular tone.
The treatment of psychogenic dizziness consists in changing the internal attitude to traumatic situations so that dizziness and other disturbing symptoms do not occur. This is very difficult psychologically, although it costs absolutely nothing. The most difficult thing is working on yourself, on your fears and beliefs. Treatment is reduced to the normalization of the psychoemotional state.
It is also necessary to review the patient's nutrition. Vitamins A and C are needed. They are found in foods, fruits and vegetables:
- Lemon.
- Orange.
- Beef liver.
- Fatty dairy products.
- Fish fat.
- Carrot.
- Persimmon.
- Strawberry.
- Germinated crops.
- Rosehip.
- Black currant.
It is necessary to observe the correct diet, which should contain all the necessary trace elements and vitamins for the body. It is advisable to eat at the same time, servings are better less, but more often.
Drug treatment
Medicines used to treat psychogenic dizziness:
- Antidepressants: Fevarin, Paxil.
- Anxiolytics: "Phenazepam", "Clonazepam", "Atarax".
- Antipsychotics: “Tiaprida”, “Sulpirida”.
- Nootropic drugs.
The Betaserk drug has proven itself in the treatment of such a disease as psychogenic dizziness. Reviews about this drug are only good. Patients report improvement. Pass dizziness, no tinnitus. But the drug is recommended to be taken in long courses for a lasting effect and as an additional therapy.
Folk remedies
As we know, priority is given to therapy without the use of drugs, including a disease such as psychogenic dizziness. Treatment with folk remedies in such cases has always been popular. We will name some of them.
- Aromatherapy It is useful oil of juniper, orange.
- Infusion of oregano. In 2 tablespoons of grass pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. Let it brew.
- Infusion of lavender. 1 tablespoon per glass of boiling water.
- Ginger Tea
- Use pomegranates more often.
Infusions are recommended to drink half an hour before meals and throughout the day. Folk remedies do not give a quick result, so therapy should be lengthy.
How to help
If dizziness occurs at home, you must:
- Lie down so that your head, neck and shoulders lie on the pillow.
- Exclude head turns.
- Relieve clothing pressure.
- Good air access must be provided.
- A cold towel moistened with a light solution of vinegar can be applied to the forehead.
If dizziness occurs on the street:
- It is necessary to calm down and not to panic.
- Sit down and focus your eyes, but do not close your eyes.
- Do not move or turn your head.
- If at the same time there is severe pain in the chest, stomach or numb arms, legs, speech is disturbed, it is urgent to call an ambulance.
Prevention of psychogenic dizziness
In order to reduce the number of dizziness, it is necessary not only to try to remain calm in any situations and learn to control yourself, but also follow some recommendations:
- Move more and do exercises, especially with sedentary work.
- Observe the regime of work and rest.
- Do not overwork, get enough sleep.
- Avoid stressful situations.
- To refuse from bad habits.
- Do not make sudden movements of the head and neck, and also do not change the position of the body sharply.
- More relax in the fresh air.
- Limit salt, strong tea, and coffee.
- Learn relaxation techniques.
For frequently recurring bouts of dizziness, consult a doctor. If serious pathologies are detected in the early stages, then the therapy will be more effective. More often, dizziness is associated with overwork and improper work and rest, but it is better to play it safe and visit a specialist.