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I'm open to synonyms for "mindbody" either as a noun (the combination of mind and body as one unit) or as an adjective (e.g. "psychosomatic" or "psychogenic").

But I can't have "psycho" in the term since that sometimes has unintended connotations.

And I'd prefer it to be only one or two syllables if possible. If you can't think of any in English, non-English would also be interesting. Thanks!

UPDATE: I should have more clearly stated that I'm trying to dumb down the language to make it as accessible and friendly as possible, so words like "somatization" are also not ideal.

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  • Perhaps the sort of sentence you want to construct would be helpful....
    – Vector
    Apr 6, 2014 at 2:03
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    "psychosomatic" is from "psychology". "psycho" is short for "psychotic".
    – Elliott Frisch
    Apr 6, 2014 at 2:27
  • I realize that "psycho" is short for "psychotic", but people's negative connotations expand beyond that. Doctors find much resistance (at least in the US) when they try to inform patients of a psychosomatic diagnosis. Many patients take offense and think that doctors are saying that the patients are lying or being manipulative (and that their pain or symptoms are imaginary or nonexistent). I'm trying to introduce these concepts to people in a gentle, accessible way. E.g. back pain and wrist pain are usually psychogenic (i.e. they are painful physical changes induced by the brain).
    – Ryan
    Apr 6, 2014 at 3:32
  • Context, please. I can't think of any situation in which both those words would be appropriate, and without context I have no idea which one you're trying to find an equivalent of. (And I think you're being oversensitive about "psycho". It's a perfectly legitimate root, and doesn't have negative connotations unless used in isolation.)
    – keshlam
    Apr 6, 2014 at 4:16
  • @Ryan Call it a "phantom" condition?
    – Elliott Frisch
    Apr 6, 2014 at 5:49

3 Answers 3

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I would offer holistic.

relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts

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I usually use "somatized" (I don't like the "psych-" too), if it's the appropriate meaning you are searching for. I'm pretty sure it comes from latin "soma" which means body so it should work.

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  • OED doesn't have somatize as a verb, but it does have somatization: "The occurrence of bodily symptoms in consequence of or as an expression of mental disorder." Soma is Greek, by the way. +1 though: this seems [to a non-medic] just what is needed.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Apr 6, 2014 at 13:29
  • Yeah, somatization would be the term used by medical personal.
    – Mike
    Apr 6, 2014 at 14:32
  • Thanks. Yeah, I've used "somatization" but have found that that requires lots of explanation, too. I want to use words that are very accessible to a general population.
    – Ryan
    Apr 6, 2014 at 16:18
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I can't seem to think of a one or two syllable word -- nor of any existing synonym actually. But, how about such neologisms as "corpomentia" and "corpomential," "phrenosomatics" and "phrenosomatic," and "somatothymia" and "somatothymic?"

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