Stress and emotions have long been claimed to be associated with disease. Although objec- tive- and biology-oriented in its evolution, western medicine has recently commenced to acknowledge stress and emotions as important factors in the pathology of disease.

Researchers have been investigating the nature of the psychosomatic connection and the com- bination of recent discoveries has contributed to a considerable understanding of its physio- logical, molecular and epigenetic background.Furthermore, it was revealed that there exists a cross-talk between the mind and the body, which is not unidirectional in nature, hence al- lowing the body to communicate with the mind as well. Therefore, emotions can be both, the cause of a disease or the manifestation of an internal pathological process.

Understanding how emotions influence disease has allowed the integration of these scientific findings not only in the aetiological model of disease, but also in therapeutic interventions.