Somatic symptom disorder

A somatoform disorder is the manifestation of psychological conflict in physical form, which can include paralysis, blindness and physical pain. Some patients may show an impairment or complete loss of a physiological function, without a medically explainable cause. Everyone experiences these types of aches and pains, but they become pathological only when an individual experiences significant distress or impairment in their life. These physical symptoms are not a result of malingering, and are often encountered in medical settings.

List of disorders

The following disorders are recognized by the DSM-IV-TR:

• Body dysmorphic disorder is a preoccupation with an imaginary or wildly exaggerated defect in physical appearance.

• Hypochondriasis is a well known somatoform disorder, in which the patient worries excessively about his or her health. Hypochondriacs misinterpret their symptoms as signs of a serious illness and usually present to a physician already having determined a diagnosis. These fears are irrational because they persist despite medical evidence to the contrary, but not delusional since the feared illness is usually an ordinary syndrome, such as coronary heart disease or cancer

• Somatization disorder is a pattern of numerous and repeated physical complaints that begin by age 30, persist for several years, and causes the person to seek medical treatment but cannot be medically explained. A diagnosis requires a specific combination of pain, gastrointestinal, sexual and neurological symptoms.

• Undifferentiated somatoform disorder is a diagnosis for unexplained physical complaints that last for at least six months, but do not meet the diagnostic threshold for somatization disorder.

• Pain disorder is characterized by pain that is seen as the disorder itself, not as a symptom. Even when a medical condition exists, the pain seems to be more severe than can be explained by a physical cause, psychological factors are assumed to play a role.

• Conversion disorder is an actual disability that mimics a neurological or medical condition, yet cannot be explained by an organic cause. The most common conversion symptoms are blindness, deafness, paralysis, and anesthesia.

• Somatoform disorder not otherwise specified is a diagnosis for individuals who present with somatoform symptoms but do not meet the criteria for any of the somatoform disorders.