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<p>There is a difference between someone “abstaining” from sex and getting nauseated when others even mention sex. It would seem that someone who is asexual, who simply has no interest or attraction to others, would feel nothing at all when others discuss sex. Being repulsed to the point of nausea by even a conversation about it would seem to go quite beyond disinterest, and I think it is a legitimate possibility that this person’s physical symptoms may be have psychological roots. Just because someone may have a psychological issue does not mean they have a disease, and I don’t think anyone has suggested such a thing.</p>
<p>People seem to have no trouble believing that the mind can influence health when say, one reports “my friend had such a positive attitude! She was a fighter, and believed in her cure from the beginning, and the doctors think it definitely impacted her recovery.” The same person might become highly offended if there is any implication that their body might also be negatively influenced by one’s emotions or the psyche. “How DARE you suggest my illness is not real! What are saying, that I’m crazy?” And the placebo effect is one fascinating phenomenon, in my opinion.</p>
<p>As a nurse, I learned that just because a symptom, a series of symptoms, an illness, or condition might have psychological origins does not mean it is not legitimate, that it does not require treatment, and that its symptoms are not very very real.</p>
<p>The mind has to potential to impact the body in a myriad of ways.</p>