Despite the fact that it is impossible to cure aggressive cancer on a psychoanalyst’s couch, nevertheless, psychoanalytic therapy can prolong and improve the patient’s quality of life. Dr. Luis Chiozza is convinced of this - a medical psychoanalyst from Buenos Aires, a member of the Argentine and International Psychoanalytic Associations, a specialist in medical psychosomatics, a laureate of the Argentine non-profit cultural foundation Conex for research in the field of psychoanalysis, the author of many books on psychoanalytic psychosomatics, including works on psychoanalysis of oncology. Luis Chiozza, in an interview with the online publication LaOpiniondeMurcia, explains how and why we get sick, how the emotional part of people’s lives affects their health. Man is a “psychosomatic” being; body and soul constitute two planes of human existence that are not alienated from each other. We are animals with an inner life. How does an animal’s illness differ from a human’s illness? I believe that the difference lies in the complexity of mental life, which makes human life in general and the development of diseases in him in particular much more complex than in animals. But we must not forget that animals also have emotions. Can we say that a good life is the coordination of organs and the functions they perform? We associate the heart with feelings, the brain with thinking, and the liver with actions and the ability to effort. A well-lived life needs balance. What role do emotions play in all of this? Emotions affect our state of mind, causing mood swings, which in turn lead to changes in organ functioning. Is it better to vent and verbalize our feelings and frustrations? Certainly! Speech helps translate what we feel into consciousness, which motivates us to take actions that can improve our well-being. Repressed emotions that we hold back and hide always find their expression in organ diseases. You argue that our lives are shaped by the body and psyche. How does this happen? The body and psyche cannot be separated. When a couple of lovers kiss, they do so on both the physical and mental levels. Man is a psychosomatic being, therefore illness is always associated with both the body and the psyche, while one of these factors may be more obvious, and the other more hidden. It is necessary to strive to create a positive environment, because we become infected with cognitive distortions as easily as we do viruses. We can, want and need to do certain things, and conflicts arise most often because we cannot always do what we want. want or have to. Does this lead to illness? Illness occurs when there is an imbalance or deficiency between desire, opportunity and duty. This is the deep emotional structure of all human life: desires are always associated with the heart, possibilities with the liver, and oughts with the brain. Emotional intelligence combines the heart and brain without losing sight of hepatic capabilities. What does liver disease have to do with emotional conflicts? Liver disease is associated with the difficulties that a person has in performing his daily tasks. In other words, difficulties in the practice of life can lead to the development of hepatitis. Another form of disease of this kind is gallbladder disease. Envy, which cannot find a way out in the form of a feeling of shame, can be manifested in the form of colic in the liver. Redness, sweating, increased blood pressure are also related to what is happening in our brain, right? Not only in the brain, but also in the psyche . Blushing usually occurs due to shame, sweating due to anxiety and increased blood pressure due to unconscious resentment. Thinking is a process that occurs not only in the brain. What value can psychotherapy offer in the era of neuroscience? Psychotherapy is becoming more and more in demand, and this, unfortunately, leads to.