Somatoform Disorders

Somatoform disorders are characterised by physical symptoms for which no underlying medical or neurologic reason can be found.

The most common types are

Pain disorder

Characterised by chronic and often severe pain in one or more areas that is caused by psychological stress.

Body dysmorphic disorder

Characterised by the obsessive idea that certain aspects of the patient’s body or appearance are significantly flawed. People suffering from this disorder spend a significant amount of time trying to hide or to fix the part which is believed to be distorted.

Hypochondriasis

Characterised by an ongoing fear and worries of having a serious illness when there are no medical or neurological hints for it.

Conversion disorder

Characterised by neurological symptoms such as blindness, numbness or paralysis without an organic cause.

Somatic symptom disorder

Characterised by repeated physical complaints (typically a combination of pain, gastrointestinal distress, neurological problems and sexual dysfunction) that cannot be explained by medical reasons.

What to do

Try to break the self-fulfilling cycle of pain and despair. As mentioned here medical and mental health are tightly connected. The mere thought of feeling pain or being ill can cause our body to actually simulate this very feeling when that thought is recurring. Conversely, we actually feel better when we think that we are healthy and going well. Thus, pick a small thing that makes you happy and focus on the feeling after conducting that thing. Pay attention to the positive feelings and try to recall this feeling whenever you feel any symptom of the somatoform disorders emerging.

For more ideas on what you could do, see also the page  What can you generally do.

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