Somatoform, Pain & Tension Headache · OPD
All your reports are normal. Your pain is still real.
Somatoform and psychosomatic disorders are conditions in which genuine physical symptoms — pain, burning, giddiness, palpitations, headache, bowel upset — arise from the way the brain and nervous system process signals, rather than from damage to the organ being investigated. The symptoms are real, not imagined, and being told 'nothing is wrong, it is all in your mind' is both unhelpful and inaccurate. These conditions have specific, effective treatment.
Manas Neuropsychiatry Hospital · Bhavnagar
Patients reach us after an average of five doctors and a file full of normal reports.
Symptoms
How it actually shows up.
Common presentations
- Tension headache: a tight band or heaviness across the head, worse through the day
- Migraine with nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound
- Burning sensations in the hands, feet, head or whole body
- Body ache, neck and shoulder pain, low backache with normal scans
- Giddiness and unsteadiness with normal ENT and neurology reports
- Palpitations, chest heaviness and breathlessness with a normal ECG
- Gas, acidity, IBS-like loose motions or constipation
The pattern around it
- Symptoms worsen with stress, arguments and financial worry
- Multiple doctors consulted; repeated normal investigations
- Strong fear of a serious hidden disease such as cancer or a heart problem
- Frequent internet searching and reassurance-seeking
- Disturbed sleep, irritability and low mood alongside the pain
- Painkiller overuse — which itself causes daily headache
Why it happens
Causes we look for before prescribing.
- Underlying anxiety or depression, which amplifies pain signals
- Central sensitisation — the nervous system's pain filter becoming over-sensitive
- Chronic stress, caregiving burden, marital and financial conflict
- Analgesic overuse headache from daily painkillers
- Poor sleep, tobacco, alcohol and vitamin D or B12 deficiency
- A previous serious illness in self or family, which primes health anxiety
Our treatment approach
What treatment at Manas actually involves.
Taking your symptoms seriously
We review the reports you already have, examine you, and clearly explain what is happening in the nervous system — usually replacing a decade of 'nothing is wrong' with an actual diagnosis.
Stopping the investigation cycle
Repeating normal tests increases anxiety and strengthens the symptom. We agree on what genuinely still needs checking, and then deliberately stop.
Medication that works on pain pathways
Low-dose antidepressants such as amitriptyline, duloxetine or SSRIs are used here as nerve-pain and headache treatments, not as 'mind medicines' — and they work.
Withdrawing overused painkillers
Daily painkillers are a common hidden cause of chronic headache. We taper them with cover, and headaches often improve dramatically within weeks.
Relaxation, CBT and physiotherapy
Progressive muscular relaxation, breathing work, graded activity and posture correction — the combination that reduces tension headache and body pain lastingly.
Treating the anxiety or depression underneath
Where these are present, treating them properly is what finally settles the physical symptoms.
Anxiety & panic disorderPlease read this
New severe headache with vomiting, weakness, visual loss, fever, seizures, or a first headache after the age of 50 must be evaluated medically first. We are not suggesting you ignore your body — only that a normal report deserves a proper explanation.
Frequently asked
Questions we are asked every week.
Treatment begins with one consultation.
OPD Mon – Sat, 9 AM – 8 PM at Kalanala, Bhavnagar. No referral needed. Emergency support 24×7.