Psychosomatic medicine deals with physical disorders that are also called psychophysiologic disorders, or somatoform disorders. An illness may be considered psychosomatic when it seems to result from strong emotional conditions such as anxiety, trauma, depression, anger or guilt, rather than a physical cause. A physician who specializes in psychosomatic medicine will first test the patient to rule out physical causes. A psychosomatic illness will often respond to pain medication or other medical help, but psychological assessment is required to find the underlying cause of the illness.

Some psychosomatic illnesses are irritable bowel syndrome, upset stomach, muscle aches, tension headaches, panic attacks, colitis and ulcers, and even infertility. Psychological stress can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system and lower energy levels, allowing the body to create or worsen physical diseases. The way a person handles stress often affects the severity of psychosomatic illnesses.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Michigan has 21 practicing psychosomatic medicine doctors. Broken out by city, psychosomatic medicine doctor density in Ann Arbor is 5, in Bay City is 1, in Belleville is 1, in Birmingham is 2, in Dearborn is 2, in Detroit is 3, in East Lansing is 2, in Haslett is 1, in Kalamazoo is 1, in Lansing is 6, in Livonia is 1, in Marquette is 1, in Saginaw is 1, in Wayne is 1, in West Bloomfield is 1, and in Westland is 1.

Michigan’s capital is Lansing, and its population is 10,120,860. Michigan has lots of places to entertain residents and visitors: tour Kellogg’s Cereal City USA in Battle Creek, the Motown Historical Museum in Detroit, the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, or the Grand Rapids Brewing Co. Take a carriage tour on Mackinac Island, where no vehicle traffic is allowed. Michigan borders on four of the five Great Lakes, so there are always lakefront vistas and lighthouse tours and boat rides, no matter what shore you’re on. The Soo Lock system is the world’s busiest lock system for boat traffic. Famous people born here include industrialist Henry Ford, and singers Diana Ross and Madonna.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Michigan has a population of 10,120,860. Of this population, 2,451,309 are under the age of 18 and 1,252,187 are at or above the age of 65.