Somatoform DisorderPresented by Cynthia Nguyen and Christian Gonzalez

Explanation

•Somatoform disorders are mental illnesses that cause bodily symptoms, including pain. The symptoms can’t be traced back to any physical cause and they are not the result of substance abuse or another mental illness.

Diagnostic Criteria•One or more somatic symptoms that are distressing

or result in significant disruption of daily life.• Excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to

the somatic symptoms or associated health concerns as manifested by at least one of the following▫Disproportionate persistent thoughts about

seriousness of one’s symptoms▫Persistently high level of anxiety about health▫Excessive time and energy devoted to these

symptoms or health concerns• The state of being symptomatic is persistent.

Diagnostic Features (Symptoms)•Distressing or result in significant

disruption of daily life▫Pain or fatigue

•High levels of worry about illness▫neurologic problems

Prevalence

•Unknown, however the prevalence of the disorder is expected to be higher than that of more restrictive DSM-IV somatization disorder (<1%), but lower than that of undifferentiated somatoform disorder (approx. 19%).

Development and Course

•May be under diagnosed in older adults because certain somatic symptoms (e.g. paint, fatigue) are considered part of normal aging

• Illness worry is considered “understandable” in older adults who have more general medical illnesses and medications.

Culture-Related Diagnostic Issues

•Somatic symptoms may be attributed variously to particular family, work or environmental stresses; general medical illnesses; or certain culture=specific phenomena.

•There are differences in medical treatment seeking among cultural groups.

Risk(s) & Prognostic Factors

•Temperamental – personality trait of negative affectivity (e.g. depression, anxiety)

•Environmental – more frequent in those that have experienced stressful situations

•Course modifiers – symptoms associated with demographic features, a reported history of sexual abuse or other childhood adversity, psychiatric disorder, social stress, and reinforcing social factors

Differential Diagnosis• Panic Disorder – somatic symptoms and

anxiety about health tend to occur in acute episodes

•Depressive Disorders – commonly accompanied by somatic symptoms

•Delusional Disorder – the individual’s beliefs that somatic symptoms might reflect serious underlying physical illness

•Body Dysmorphic Disorder – excessive concern about a perceived defect in his or her physical features

Case Study: Anna O.• Born: Vienna• Age of Diagnosis: 21• Personality Traits &

Experience Symptoms: blurry vision; immobile for certain body parts; difficulty speaking; refused to eat or drink despite her hunger and thirst; at times delirious; easily confused▫ Prior to the onset of Anna's

symptoms, she was an intelligent, perfectly healthy woman.

Group Perspective

• It is pretty scary considering how the cause of the disorder is unknown.

•Women are more likely to be diagnosed with this disorder and outnumber men 5 to 20 times.

•The physical pain the diagnosed feel is NOT imaginary.