Week 9: Somatic Symptoms and Related Disorders

Question 1

what were somatic symptoms and related disorders called previous to the DSM-5

Answer 1

somatoform disorders

Question 2

what generally are somatic symptoms and related disorder?

Answer 2

disorders of no medical or physical case, assumed to be caused psychologically; not under voluntary control

Question 3

what is somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain

Answer 3

used to be called pain disorder; chronic pain that is not medically explainable
- usually lasts longer if they are somehow benefiting from the disorder–> psychological factors maintain the pain

Question 4

what is body dysmorphic disorder

Answer 4

preoccupation with imagined or exaggerated defects in physical appearance

fixation on body part- stare at it a lot, constantly worrying about it, avoid social activities because of it

Question 5

what is somatic symptom disorder

Answer 5

hypochondriac with bodily concerns and one physical symptom

- disproportionate stress to the symptom - devote too much time and energy to them

Question 6

what is illness (health) anxiety disorder

Answer 6

hypochondriac with bodily concerns but no physical symptoms whatsoever

• persistently fears having serious disease
• takes every bodily change not simply explainable by that individual as a sign of serious illness

Question 7

what is the cognitive model of health anxiety

Answer 7

4 contributing factors

(1) critical precipitating incident
(2) previous experience of illness and related medical factors
(3) presence of inflexible or negative cognitive assumptions
(4) severity of anxiety
- if factors 1 or 2 increase, health anxiety increases
- if factors 3 or 4 increase, health anxiety decreases

Question 8

what is functional neurological symptom disorder

Answer 8

used to be called conversion disorder, which used to be called hysteria

• sensory or motor symptoms without any physiological cause
• insensitivity to pain
• anesthesia (loss or impairment of sensations)
• aphonia or anosmia sometimes

Question 9

what is aphnia

Answer 9

loss of voice and all but whispered speech

Question 10

what is anosmia

Answer 10

loss or impairment of sense of smell

Question 11

what is malingering

Answer 11

faking an incapacity in order to avoid a responsibility

• difficult to distinguish from conversion disorders
• seen in 1/3 of conversion disorder patients
• have somatization (multiple physical complaints without a biological basis)

Question 12

the difference between malingering and conversion disorder

Answer 12

people with conversion disorder have la bell indifference - the lack of concern about the magnitude of the physical presenting deficit)