Dissociative and somatic symptom disorders

Q: What are somatic symptom and related disorders?

• Somatic symptom disorder: One or more distressing somatic symptoms

• Conversion disorder: Loss or significant change in physical function (e.g., blindness) without a medical cause

• Illness anxiety disorder: Preoccupation with having or acquiring an illness, with little or no medical evidence

Q: What characterizes dissociative disorders?

• Defining feature: Disruption in normally integrated functions such as memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior

Q: What are the main types of dissociative disorders?

• Depersonalization/derealization disorder:

  • Depersonalization: Self feels unreal; body may not feel like own

  • Derealization: Surroundings feel unreal

  • Not due to drugs or psychosis

• Dissociative amnesia: Memory loss in response to stress; can be selective or complete; not caused by head injury or substances

• Dissociative fugue: Subtype of amnesia; person loses identity, leaves life behind, wanders to a new location, may adopt a new identity; lasts hours to years

• Dissociative identity disorder (DID): Multiple identities; may or may not be aware of each other; identities can differ in age, gender, behavior; all dissociative symptoms may be present

Q: What is the trauma-dissociation theory of dissociative disorders?

• Disorders develop in response to severe stress or trauma

• Often begins in early childhood, frequently linked to physical or sexual abuse

• Most individuals with DID also have PTSD