Symptoms and Surface Psychology

Symptoms and Surface Psychology

Nobody likes experiencing painful symptoms. We dread the scratchy throat of a winter cold, or the bleak despair of a depressive episode. We wish they would disappear, yet at the same time we know they are our messengers—invisible laborers toiling in our bodies signaling that something has gone wrong. Symptoms are the language our body uses to communicate distress, both physical and psychological. That scratchy throat, despite being a nuisance, c…