Abstract
This study aimed (1) to investigate specific body sensations of mental disorder patients and (2) to examine the relationship between body sensations and other subjective experiences. Participants of the study's questionnaire survey included 372 psychiatric patients and 184 control group subjects. The results of Kruskal-Wallis tests were as follows. “Depression” group reported more cenesthesias, such as feeling of oppression and heaviness, than did the other groups, and “Manic-Depressive” group reported higher levels of uncontrollable feeling and paralysis than did the control group. Moreover, “Neurosis” group reported a higher level of anxiety than did the control group, and “Schizophrenia” group reported a greater tendency of paralysis than did the control group. In brief, results demonstrated that patients' mental states and disorders were reflected in their body sensations. Moreover, as significant correlations between body sensations and other subjective experiences were exhibited, patients suffering from mental disorders were considered to have issues that were not only psychological but also physical. Furthermore, it was found that to understand the clients, it was important for counselors to examine their own body sensations as well as those of the clients during counseling.
