Somatic Symptom Disorders

Question 1

Define somatiform disorder

Answer 1

• stressor provoke symptoms or distress about a disease. It is real but there is NO ORGANIC cause of the symptoms.
• patient usually has multiple PCPs because no one can figure out the problem.
• Patient is frustrated because he or she have undergone so many tests but no one can find anything.

Question 2

What should you rule out before diagnosing somatiform disorder?

Answer 2

• rule out organic causes
• malingering
• factitious disorder

Question 3

Tx for somatiform disorder

Answer 3

• psychotherapy

- setting boundaries with PCP; keep ONE PCP

Question 4

Define illness anxiety disorder

Answer 4

• patient has no symptoms but is preoccupied with acquiring an illness.
• They cannot help the way they feel.

Question 5

Define symptom somatic disorder

Answer 5

• Patient has a physical symptom(s) that are unwanted, such as pain or fatigue.
• No one can figure out what is wrong with them. *Multiple tests with normal results

Question 6

Define conversion disorder

Answer 6

• Patient experiences a traumatic stressor that leads to a neurological deficit.

Question 7

Define factitious disorder

Answer 7

• Patient is faking the illness for attention to fulfill a role
• Can also occur by proxy–> meaning someone is making someone else sick on purpose to fulfill a role. Ex–> mother feeds child poison to become the mother who is caring for a sick child. *6th sense movie

Question 8

Define malingering

Answer 8

• Patient is causing symptoms on purpose for a secondary gain, like financial gain.
• Ex–> man who fakes back pain who does not want to go back to work.