Emotional Causes of Illness A–Z: What German New Medicine Says

In short: German New Medicine (GNM) does offer an "emotional cause" for most symptoms, but not in the form of a fixed emotion per illness.

• The tissue decides the theme. GNM ties each tissue to a conflict theme: the outer skin to separation, bones and joints to self-devaluation, the gut to "morsels" you couldn't take in or let go of.
• The phase decides when you feel it. Every program runs in two phases, and many of the symptoms people notice belong to the healing phase, after the conflict has already resolved.
• The meaning is personal. GNM holds that how you experienced a shock, not the event itself, decides which program starts. The list below gives the theme to look for, not a verdict.

Lists of emotional causes of illness usually work like a dictionary: find the symptom, read the emotion. Louise Hay's well-known list is the classic example, pairing each condition with a thought pattern and an affirmation. German New Medicine also links symptoms to inner experience, but it gets there by a different route. It starts with the tissue, asks which biological conflict that tissue answers to, then looks at timing to see which phase you are in. This page gives that reading for 51 common symptoms, A to Z, with each entry linking to its full guide.

Why GNM doesn't give one emotion per illness

A fixed list says that a given emotion produces a given illness. GNM makes a narrower claim. In its model, a biological conflict begins with a sudden, unexpected shock that a person experiences in isolation, which Hamer called the DHS (Dirk Hamer Syndrome). Hamer is explicit that it is the moment of that shock, as it was felt, that sets everything else:

"What is experienced at the moment of DHS (Dirk Hamer Syndrome) determines the content of the conflict and establishes possible reaction tracks for later." Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer, Eine Einführung in die Neue Medizin (2000), PDF p. 13–14 (translated from the German)

Three consequences follow, and they are why this page reads differently from a Louise Hay-style list.

The same event can start different programs. Hamer ties the brain area involved to the mental image a person subjectively attached to the experience. One person may take a job loss as a lost territory, another as a blow to their worth, a third as a "morsel" snatched away, and each reading points to a different tissue. Our guide to biological conflicts walks through this in detail.

Ordinary moods are not the trigger. Hamer separates the biological conflict from "normal everyday psychological problems" (Eine Einführung in die Neue Medizin, 2000, PDF p. 24, translated from the German). Everyday problems can pave the way, he writes, but the program itself starts with an unforeseen, shocking experience. So "resentment causes arthritis" is not a GNM sentence. A sudden blow to your sense of capability is the closer reading.

The feeling changes with the phase. Hamer's 1981 habilitation thesis makes the point in one line: "The psychological 'values' are also completely different for the two phases!" Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer, Habilitationsverfahren (1981), p. 204 (translated from the German). While a conflict is active, GNM describes a stressed state: cold hands, poor sleep, a mind fixed on the problem. After it resolves, the body shifts into rest and repair, which brings fatigue, warmth and, for many tissues, the swelling, pain or inflammation people call the illness. A list that pairs one emotion with one symptom has no room for that switch.

How to read each entry

Where GNM's material allows, each entry below answers three questions in GNM's terms:

1. Which tissue is involved. Many symptom names cover more than one tissue, so some entries split into two programs.
2. Which conflict theme that tissue answers to. This is the closest GNM comes to an "emotional cause."
3. When the symptom shows up. "After it resolves" means GNM places the symptom in the healing phase, so the useful question is what eased in the days before it started, not what is bothering you now.

For many tissues, GNM adds a side rule based on handedness. For a right-handed person, the left side of the body is linked to a mother or child and the right side to a partner, colleague or friend. For a left-handed person the pattern reverses. Where an entry mentions sides, that is the rule it uses.

The A–Z list

A

Acid reflux. GNM ties reflux to the sphincter at the top of the stomach and a territorial anger conflict: anger over something happening in "my" domain. The sphincter opens while the conflict is active and again during a sharp turning point in healing, and some of the burn may come from a separate program in the upper esophagus. Acid reflux in GNM.

Acne. The under-skin (corium), which holds the oil glands, answers to feeling attacked, often by words, or feeling soiled or disfigured at that spot. The skin thickens quietly while the conflict is active, and the red, pus-filled breakout comes after it resolves. GNM adds that the sight of acne can itself land as a new "disfigured" conflict. Acne in GNM.

Allergies. GNM reads an allergen as a "track": a sensory detail, such as pollen or a food, recorded at the moment of an earlier shock. Meeting it again restarts that conflict's program, so the symptom follows the original conflict: skin reactions for separation, sneezing for a "this stinks" conflict, wheezing for fright or territorial fear. Allergies in GNM.

Anxiety. GNM links anxiety and panic to two cortical conflicts: territorial fear, which involves the bronchial relay, and scare-fright, which involves the larynx relay. Which one a person experiences depends on sex, handedness and hormonal status. Anxiety in GNM.

Arthritis. Joint tissue answers to self-devaluation, a blow to your sense of worth or capability. GNM places the warmth, swelling and stiffness in the healing phase, while the joint rebuilds. Many joints at once points, in its reading, to a broader self-devaluation, often around repeated unfair treatment. Arthritis in GNM.

Athlete's foot. The sweat glands of the feet answer to a "feeling soiled" conflict. GNM places the itch and smell in the healing phase and reads the fungus as a decomposer clearing tissue the program no longer needs. Repeated reminders of the original situation keep it coming back. Athlete's foot in GNM.

B

Back pain (lower back and neck). Both answer to self-devaluation, with different themes. The lower back is tied to feeling unsupported, "not backed up" by a partner, relative or boss, and to blows that strike the core of who you are. The neck is tied to intellectual self-devaluation: feeling slow, mistaken or unfairly judged. GNM places the pain after the conflict resolves. Back pain in GNM.

Bloating. GNM connects gas and distension to "indigestible morsel" conflicts in the intestines: situations you took in and tried to digest that turned sour or were snatched away. Much of the fullness belongs to healing, when microbes break down the extra tissue the conflict built. Bloating in GNM.

C

Candida. GNM reads candida as a cleanup crew in the healing phase, and each location points to its own conflict: mouth thrush to a morsel you couldn't catch or keep, intestinal candida to something you couldn't digest, candida in the bladder to an "ugly," dirty morsel. Flares often follow rest or the end of a hard chapter. Candida in GNM.

Cold sores. In GNM, the lip skin answers to a separation conflict that runs two ways: missing a touch you wanted, or wanting to end a touch you didn't. The lip goes subtly numb and dry while it's active; the tingle and blisters arrive once it resolves. The side of the lip follows the handedness rule. Cold sores in GNM.

Constipation. GNM involves two programs: the colon lining, which answers to situations felt as ugly or vile, and the intestinal smooth muscle, which answers to a morsel that can't be pushed forward. Constipation belongs to the active phase, alongside cold hands, poor sleep and low appetite. Constipation in GNM.

Cough. Most coughs, in GNM, come after a territorial fear or scare-fright conflict resolves, while the airways repair. A dry cough points to the bronchial muscles, a productive cough adds the bronchial lining, a barking cough points to the larynx, and coughing fits mark the brief, intense turning point of healing. Cough in GNM.

D

Dandruff. In GNM, the scalp's outer skin answers to a separation conflict: the sudden loss of contact with someone close, or the wish to break contact. The skin turns dry with fine flaking while the conflict is active, and the itchy, scaling repair follows. Dandruff that comes and goes suggests a healing process that keeps restarting. Dandruff in GNM.

Depression. GNM ties depression to the temporal lobes. A single active territorial conflict on the right side produces what it calls primary depression. Two conflicts active at once, one on each side, form a constellation in which mood swings between depression and mania. Sex, handedness and hormone status decide where a conflict lands. Depression in GNM.

Diarrhea. GNM reads diarrhea as the healing phase of an indigestible morsel conflict: a person, remark or piece of news you could not take in or accept. The useful question is what finally settled in the day or two before it started, and whether the morsel felt ugly (the colon) or like something withheld (the small intestine). Diarrhea in GNM.

E

Ear infections. The middle ear answers to a "hearing morsel" conflict: not being able to catch a sound you wanted, or get rid of one you didn't. The tissue builds up while the conflict is active, and the earache and discharge come during healing. GNM notes this is part of why ear infections are so common in young children. Ear infections in GNM.

Eczema. In GNM, the outer skin answers to a separation conflict: losing physical contact with someone important, or wanting to push unwanted contact away. The skin goes dry and flaky while the separation lasts, then turns red, weepy and itchy once it ends. Where the rash appears points to the contact involved. Eczema in GNM.

Eye problems. GNM reads each eye symptom by tissue. A stye is the eyelid glands healing after an attack against the eye, such as a reproachful look. Dry eyes and conjunctivitis belong to a visual separation conflict, losing sight of someone important. GNM also notes that long close work can strain the eye muscles with no conflict at all. Eye problems in GNM.

F

Fatigue (chronic). GNM reads lasting exhaustion two ways. One is a healing phase that never finishes, because reminders of the conflict keep restarting it. The other is an active "wrong path" conflict in the adrenal cortex, the feeling of having made the wrong decision, which leaves a person wired and exhausted at once. Chronic fatigue in GNM.

Fibroids. GNM places fibroids in the muscle layer of the uterus and ties them to not being able to hold a pregnancy, or to become pregnant at all. That distress can be felt on behalf of a daughter, sister or close friend. Fibroids in GNM.

Fibromyalgia. GNM reads it as the healing phase of a generalized self-devaluation, one that touches a person's whole sense of worth rather than one capability. It also describes a loop: the pain itself can bring a new self-devaluation, which restarts the program. Fibromyalgia in GNM.

Flu and colds. GNM reads the flu as several programs healing at once, often when a stressful period ends: a stuffy nose for a "stink" conflict, a cough for bronchial repair after territorial fear or fright, and fever as part of the repair. Flu and colds in GNM.

Food intolerances. GNM links them to the small intestine's indigestible morsel conflict, here one felt as "indigestible anger." The food, in its reading, became a track at the original shock, so each exposure briefly restarts the healing phase and its diarrhea. Food intolerances in GNM.

G

Gallbladder. GNM links gallbladder problems to a territorial anger conflict in men and an identity conflict in women: a boundary crossed in your domain, or confusion about where you stand. Gallstones form when healing keeps being interrupted, and attacks come at the peak of healing, often during rest. Gallbladder problems in GNM.

Gout. GNM reads gout as two programs at once: a joint healing after a self-devaluation conflict, and the kidneys holding water because an abandonment or existence conflict is still active. The sudden attack falls at a sharp turning point in healing. Gout in GNM.

H

Hair loss. In GNM, the scalp's outer skin answers to a separation conflict, the loss of contact with someone close or the wish to break away. GNM describes hair thinning while the separation is unresolved, and regrowth beginning once it genuinely resolves. Hair loss in GNM.

Headaches and migraines. GNM places headaches in the healing phase, when fluid gathers around the brain area tied to a resolved conflict. The type and location point to the conflict: powerlessness, frontal fear, intellectual self-devaluation or a territorial dispute. Headaches in GNM.

Heart palpitations. GNM reads a racing or fluttering heart by phase and tissue. Any active conflict brings a faster heartbeat. Specific heart tissues answer to "not being able to move the blood" or to feeling overwhelmed by a person, and bursts of rapid beating often belong to the turning point in healing. Heart palpitations in GNM.

Hemorrhoids. GNM connects hemorrhoids to an identity conflict, a struggle to establish your place or role. The rectal lining thins while it's active, then swells as it repairs, so the swelling, itching and bleeding belong to healing. Hemorrhoids in GNM.

Hives. The outer skin heals after a separation conflict: losing contact with someone, or wanting to push a person away. Welts spread widely, in GNM's reading, when the separation was broad or intense. Hives in GNM.

I

Incontinence. GNM reads the bladder partly as a marking instrument: urine marks "my place." When the sense of not being able to mark your space stays blocked for months or years, the bladder muscle and sphincter lose function, so the leaking is the program still running. Incontinence in GNM.

Insomnia. GNM reads poor sleep as a sign of the stress state of an unresolved conflict. Waking around 3 AM with the mind already on one subject is, in its reading, the clearest clue to which conflict it is. GNM expects sleep to return when the conflict resolves, often as heavy daytime tiredness. Insomnia in GNM.

J

Joint pain (knee and hip). Both answer to self-devaluation. GNM ties the knee to physical performance, such as losing or falling behind, and the hip to something that feels "too much to carry." The ache usually starts after the pressure lifts, and the side follows the handedness rule. Knee and hip pain in GNM.

K

Kidney stones. GNM tells two stories. Stones in the kidney's collecting tubules are linked to feeling abandoned or fearing for your existence. Uric acid stones in the renal pelvis are linked to a territorial marking conflict. In both, the colic comes at the turning point of healing, when the stone is set loose. Kidney stones in GNM.

L

Liver. GNM maps liver symptoms to two layers. The liver cells answer to a starvation conflict, a gut-level fear of not being able to provide for yourself or your family. The bile ducts inside the liver answer to territorial anger in men or an identity conflict in women. The most noticeable symptoms come during healing. Liver symptoms in GNM.

N

Nausea and vomiting. The bulk of the stomach answers to an indigestible morsel, a situation you can't stomach, and produces nausea as it heals. The small curvature and pylorus answer to territorial anger. Vomiting, in GNM, is most often the body expelling the morsel. Nausea in GNM.

P

Psoriasis. GNM reads psoriasis as two separation conflicts on the same patch of skin, one still active and one healing. The active one strips cells into silvery scales and the healing one refills the skin into a red patch, which together make the plaque. Psoriasis in GNM.

S

Sciatica. The lumbar spine answers to a central self-devaluation, often a sudden sense of "lack of support" or of not being able to carry the load. GNM says a lumbar disc swells as it heals and presses on the sciatic nerve, which is why sciatica often flares after a hard stretch ends. Sciatica in GNM.

Shingles. The deeper skin (corium) heals after an attack or "feeling soiled" conflict. The band of blisters follows a skin segment, and in GNM's reading that segment marks where the attack or contamination was registered. Shingles in GNM.

Shoulder pain. GNM ties the shoulder to self-worth in a relationship: feeling you failed a partner, parent, child or someone you're responsible for, or doubting your ability to hold or embrace. The pain and stiffness come after the conflict resolves, and the side follows the handedness rule. Shoulder pain in GNM.

Sinus infections. In GNM, the nasal and sinus lining answers to a "stink" conflict: a situation that stinks, something you were fed up with or found offensive. The lining thins while the conflict is active and swells as it rebuilds, which is the congestion and pressure. Sinus infections in GNM.

Sore throat. GNM traces it to two throat conflicts: scare-fright or territorial fear in the larynx, or a morsel conflict in the pharynx and tonsils. The pain and swelling come after the conflict resolves, while the tissue repairs. Sore throat in GNM.

T

Teeth. GNM ties the teeth to "bite" conflicts. Dentin and jawbone answer to not being able to bite back, being too weak to defend yourself. Enamel answers to not being allowed to bite. Toothache and abscesses belong to the repair, and night-time grinding to the brief crisis in the jaw muscles' healing. Teeth in GNM.

Thyroid. GNM connects the thyroid gland to a "too slow" conflict: feeling too slow to seize an opportunity or get rid of a threat. It reads an overactive thyroid as the active phase, and an underactive one as the result of repeatedly interrupted healing. Thyroid in GNM.

Tinnitus. GNM reads ringing in the ears as the active phase of a hearing conflict, an "I don't want to hear this!" moment such as upsetting words or news on the phone. Which ear rings follows the handedness rule, and GNM expects the ringing to fade when the conflict resolves. Tinnitus in GNM.

U

UTIs. The bladder lining answers to a marking conflict: someone crossing your line, intruding on your space or meddling in your business. GNM places the burning and urgency in the repair phase, which is why a UTI so often follows the end of a tense stretch. UTIs in GNM.

V

Varicose veins. GNM ties the leg veins to a "ball-and-chain" conflict, feeling tied down by a person, place, job or role. The vein lining loses cells while the conflict is active and rebuilds afterward. When the conflict keeps flaring, repeated repair scars the valves and the veins bulge. Varicose veins in GNM.

Vertigo. GNM links spinning dizziness to a "falling" conflict: a sudden loss of ground, literal or not, such as devastating news or being "dropped" by a partner. The balance organ in the inner ear runs the program. Vertigo in GNM.

W

Warts. GNM connects warts to repeated separation conflicts in the outer skin. Each round of conflict and repair adds tissue, and after many rounds the build-up is a wart. The location points to the nature of the separation. Warts in GNM.

Weight gain. GNM names three programs. The main one is the kidney collecting tubules holding water during an abandonment or existence conflict. The others are a pancreas program tied to fear and disgust, which brings low blood sugar and constant hunger, and an adrenal program in the healing phase after a "wrong path" conflict. Weight gain in GNM.

Y

Yeast infections. The vaginal and cervical lining answers to a sexual or genital conflict: distress around intimacy, feeling defiled, or frustration in a sexual relationship. GNM places the itching and discharge in the healing phase, with fungi clearing the tissue built while the conflict was active. Yeast infections in GNM.

When there is no emotional cause

GNM does not read meaning into every symptom. Its own material describes ordinary hiccups from eating too fast, groin hernias, and muscle or joint pain from strain or injury as physical, with no conflict behind them. It adds one twist: pain that began physically can still set off a self-devaluation conflict ("my back is finished") that keeps the problem going. Our guides to hiccups and hernias show where GNM draws that line. So the first question GNM asks is about the story around the symptom: was there a moment of shock, or a heavy lift, a fall or a rushed meal?

If you'd rather browse every guide by name, the A–Z Symptom Index lists them all. To see the organ-by-organ map this list is drawn from, read our guide to the GNM Scientific Chart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a list of emotional causes of illness in German New Medicine?

Yes, in a sense. GNM's Scientific Chart maps every tissue to a biological conflict, and the list above gives that reading for 51 common symptoms. The difference from most emotion lists is that GNM gives a conflict theme for each tissue, then uses timing and the side of the body to narrow it down. It does not assign one feeling to each illness.

How is German New Medicine different from Louise Hay's list?

Louise Hay's list pairs each condition with a thought pattern and a new affirmation. GNM starts from the tissue and its embryonic origin, links that tissue to a biological conflict, and holds that a sudden, isolating shock starts the program, not a long-held attitude. It also places many symptoms after the conflict resolves, so the question is often "what just eased?" rather than "what am I feeling?"

Does every illness have an emotional cause in GNM?

No. GNM's material describes some symptoms as purely physical, such as ordinary hiccups, groin hernias, and pain from strain or injury. It adds that physical pain can still trigger a self-devaluation conflict of its own, which can keep the problem going.

Why do so many symptoms appear after the stress is over?

GNM describes every program as two phases: a conflict-active stress phase, then a healing phase once the conflict resolves. For many tissues, the swelling, pain, inflammation or discharge people notice belong to healing. That is why GNM so often places a cold, a rash or a stiff back in the days after a hard stretch ends.

Can the same emotion cause different illnesses?

In GNM, what matters is how the shock was experienced. The same event can be felt as a separation, a territorial loss, a blow to self-worth or an indigestible morsel, and each of those points to a different tissue. Two people can go through the same thing and show different symptoms.

How do I find the emotional cause of my own symptom?

GNM's method is to start with the tissue, find its conflict theme in an entry like the ones above, then look at timing: when the symptom started, and what changed just before. The side of the body adds the relationship involved. ChatGNM can walk you through those questions for your own situation.

Sources

• Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer — Eine Einführung in die Neue Medizin (2000)
• Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer — Habilitationsverfahren (1981)