Functions of Somatic Symptoms in Interpersonal Communication: A Cultural-Historical Approach to Psychosomatics

In the context of the cultural-historical approach to psychosomatics, a somatic phenomenon is regarded as the one that is developed within an individual's social situation of development, in particular, the social situation of an illness. The aim of this work is to apply the above-mentioned approach to the analysis of the functions of somatic symptoms in interpersonal communication. It is assumed that in the process of interpersonal communication somatic symptoms acquire certain specific functions that, if interiorized, may contribute not only to the presentation and display of bodily sensations, but to their emergence as well. The paper provides a classification of the social situations depending on their type and content, and the type of the displayed symptom (manipulation, somatization, displaying somatic symptoms of organic origin, reaction to another person's displayed symptoms, reaction to other people's distrust). Also, the paper suggests that displaying symptoms in interpersonal communications may bear the functions of justification, accusation, benefitting, gaining or asserting social status, receiving emotional or instrumental social support, and inquiring into social expectations.