Externalization Of The Symptom To Get Away From Problems

People often need help coping with the problems or symptoms they are experiencing. It is at this time that we need to go to therapy. One of the most used techniques in this context is that of symptom externalization, a way to get away from problems. We talk about it in this article.

People go to therapy to try to solve problems they have not been able to solve on their own with the help of a professional. Most of the time these are very internalized problems, so very often they are not well elaborated and are difficult to express.

The most frequent symptoms for which a person turns to a psychotherapist are: anxiety, demotivation, sadness, stress, but also problems with a partner or family.

Symptom externalization is a therapeutic tool used by psychologists so that patients can distance themselves from their problems. It allows the person to observe their difficulties and symptoms from the outside and to find meaning or a solution quickly and effectively.

Symptoms don’t define people

People who decide to go into therapy are often very attached to their beliefs, problems and symptoms. So much so that they experience them as if they were part of themselves, depriving themselves of the possibility of expanding their perspective and therefore of finding another way of looking at reality.

For example, they find it difficult to break away from their anxiety, their depression or their low self-esteem, because they now see them as part of themselves and not as passing guests.

People who go to a psychologist usually end up not telling what worries them most, what hurts or dislikes about themselves. Yet, the purpose of therapy is just that: to feel comfortable with the professional to show that part of ourselves that we usually keep hidden because it makes us vulnerable.

It is then that difficulties can arise in promoting change and the different defense mechanisms that can prevent these changes emerge.

The origins of the symptom or problem externalization technique can be traced back to systemic psychology. One of the first to propose this approach was the psychotherapist Michael White, who makes this technique the central axis of his therapeutic approach.

How symptom externalization works

Often we are so caught up in our problems that we can’t see any solution. Outsourcing or outsourcing is based on observing from the outside what the person assumes is inside himself. It can be done through a drawing or using other elements that facilitate the task of observing the problem from the outside.

Let’s imagine a person who suffers from anxiety, experiences it so much that he defines himself as an anxious person. This causes him a lot of suffering, as well as mental, emotional and physical exhaustion. Externalizing the symptom or its problems can help calm this suffering.

First of all, it is a question of choosing which element to externalize (symptoms, emotions, problems), naming the externalized element, creating a distance between the person and what he feels the need to externalize and finally helping the person to face his difficulties from another point of sight.

The benefits of changing your perspective

The effects that this technique produces in people who experience it are many, and for this reason it is worth listing them below:

• Relief and recovery of emotional balance : by giving voice to their problems, the person is able to feel a sense of rest and tranquility. By identifying with their own difficulties, they will be able to find ways to not let their emotions overwhelm them. From this state of emotional stability it will be easier to observe the problem from the outside.

• Greater self-control in the management of symptoms and derived problems : by making the symptom or difficulty his own, the patient may feel that he is not in control of what is happening to him and that he will not be able to solve it. Taking our distance and looking at things from another perspective helps us to know and manage difficulties better.

• New resources to address the problem in question : Trying to resolve a conflict is not always easy. We need new resources that facilitate the resolution of the situation. Only in this way can we acquire new tools and solutions.

• Increase responsibility in the face of difficulties : if the person is too absorbed in his own difficulties, it is normal for him to lose control of the situation. Outsourcing allows you to take responsibility for change again.

• Changing and questioning beliefs and preconceptions : preconceptions, instead of helping to solve problems, often prevent finding a solution to internal conflicts. This technique invites you to build other ways of thinking.

• Away the problem away from the person : Externalizing symptoms makes it easier for the person to enrich and change their perspective. This helps to get rid of the labels we tend to impose on ourselves. For example, instead of thinking “I’m a lunatic, I’m a person who always gets angry”, we will find that sometimes we get angry, but not always.

Outsourcing of the symptom and how to get rid of problems

Through this technique, not only the problems or symptoms are externalized, but we can also analyze the qualities, resources and strengths from another point of view. In this way the person will be able to move away from what is making him feel bad and see his situation from a more constructive point of view.

In some ways it is like putting on a new pair of glasses: through them it will be easier to accept or find a solution to what worries or blocks us.

This procedure offers a new insight and meaning to the problem and thus facilitates a faster solution. The benefits of this therapeutic tool are based on the fact that, by no longer taking difficulties as their own, patients can change their approach and improve their quality of life.