Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

Flashcards covering the essential vocabulary related to somatic symptom and related disorders.

Somatic Symptom Disorder

A condition marked by fear that a normal, minor physical symptom is a sign of a serious health problem, often involving significant distress or dysfunction.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

A condition characterized by excessive preoccupation and anxiety regarding the fear of having a serious disease.

Conversion Disorder

A disorder involving loss of motor or sensory function without a medical basis, often manifesting after stressful events and causing significant distress.

Factitious Disorder

A disorder wherein an individual fakes symptoms of illness or injury without the intention of financial or material gain.

Recurrent Abdominal Pain (RAP)

A condition defined by three or more episodes of severe abdominal pain over a three-month period that interferes with normal functioning.

Monosymptomatic

Presenting with only one symptom.

Polysymptomatic

Presenting with multiple symptoms.

Challenges of Assessing Somatic Disorders

Difficulties include beliefs linking pain to medical reasons and the comorbidity with depression, anxiety, and OCD.

Common somatic complaints in children

Typically include headaches, stomachaches, low energy, sore muscles, nausea, back pain, and abdominal pain.