Transcript Somatoform Disorders - Grand Haven Area Public Schools

Somatoform Disorders
What is a Somatoform Disorder?
• Persistent, recurring complaints of bodily
symptoms that have NO physical or medical
basis.
Types of Somatoform Disorders
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder – Exaggerated
concern and preoccupation about minor or
imagined defects in appearance. (See CNN video
on new biological evidence)
• Hypochondriasis – Preoccupation with imagined
diseases based on the person’s misinterpretation of
bodily symptoms or functions.
– The person does suffer and believes they are sick but it
is all in their head.
• Conversion Disorder – Converting a psychological
factor (commonly anxiety) into an actual loss of
physical function.
– Can result in sudden blindness, laryngitis, or even
paralysis.
Conversion Disorder Glove Anesthesia
(Inability to Feel Your Hand)
A conversion disorder Glove
anesthesia-—the experience of
no sensation in the hand but
continued sensation in all other
parts of the arm, as shown in
(a)-—cannot result from nerve
damage, because no nerves
innervate the hand without
innervating part of the arm.
The actual areas of sensory
loss that would occur if
specific nerves were damaged
are shown in (b). Thus,
whenever glove anesthesia
occurs, it is most likely a
conversion disorder.