Somatic Symptom Disorders

Somatic Symptom Disorder

A disorder characterized by one or more somatic symptoms causing distress or significant disruption in daily life.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, with minimal or no somatic symptoms.

Conversion Disorder

One or more symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory function, not better explained by medical conditions.

Factitious Disorder

Falsification of physical or psychological signs or symptoms, associated with identified deception.

Malingering

Intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated symptoms motivated by external incentives.

Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions

Psychological or behavioral factors adversely affecting a medical condition.

Primary Gain

The direct benefit an individual gains from converting psychological conflict into physical symptoms.

Secondary Gain

The indirect benefits gained from the illness, such as attention or avoidance of responsibilities.

Preoccupation

Intense focus on bodily sensations perceived as abnormal or indicative of illness.

Misinterpretation of body sensations

Interpreting normal bodily sensations as signs of severe illness.

Excessive health-related behavior

Engaging in behaviors like repeatedly checking for illness signs due to high anxiety.

Repression

A defense mechanism where unacceptable thoughts are unconsciously pushed out of awareness.

Superego

The part of the psyche that represents internalized moral standards and ideals.

Clinical findings

Evidence in a clinical setting that indicates a symptom's incompatibility with recognized medical conditions.

Cognitive distortions

Erroneous thought patterns that contribute to the misinterpretation of bodily sensations.

Vicious cycle of anxiety

A feedback loop where anxiety about health increases focus on bodily sensations, leading to further anxiety.

Chronic nature of symptoms

Somatic symptoms that persist for longer than six months.

Behavioral interference

Psychological factors affecting the treatment or management of a medical condition.

Antisocial personality disorder

A pattern of disregard for others that may be linked to malingering.

Somatic symptoms

Physical manifestations of psychological distress that are distressing to the individual.

Clinical significant distress

Level of diagnosed mental health impairment that significantly impacts functioning.

Health anxiety

An excessive preoccupation with health and the fear of illness.

Operant conditioning

Learning process through which behavior is influenced by reinforcement.

Self-care behaviors

Actions taken by individuals to manage their health and symptoms.

Family history of illness

A background of serious health problems in the family that may influence one's health anxiety.

Treatment modalities

Various therapeutic approaches used to manage and treat somatic symptom and related disorders.

Benign illness perception

The belief that serious health threats are present, even when symptoms indicate otherwise.

Ambiguous stimuli

Unclear or vague bodily sensations that may be misinterpreted as threatening signals.

Modeling within family

Behavior learned through the observation of health-related behaviors in family members.

Stressors

Life events or occurrences that cause significant psychological distress.

Behavioral therapy

Psychotherapy focused on changing maladaptive behaviors associated with health anxiety.

Medication for anxiety

Use of drugs, such as antidepressants or anxiolytics, to alleviate symptoms of anxiety.

Reassurance seeking

The repeated request for confirmation regarding one’s health from healthcare providers.

Distress call

A significant raising of concerns over health that individuals perceive as a threat.

Induction of symptoms

Deliberate creation of symptoms or illness, as seen in Factitious Disorder.

Temporal association

The timing of psychological factors influencing the course of a medical condition.