Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders

Somatoform Disorders Physical ailment has no apparent medical cause… Do people purposely produce their symptoms? Hysterical and Preoccupation Somatoform Disorders

Hysterical Somatoform Disorders Suffer actual changes in their physical functioning Hard to distinguish 3 disorders Conversion, somatization, & pain disorder associated with psychological factors

Conversion Disorder Psychological conflict or need is converted into… Symptoms seem… Examples DSM Checklist Begin between late childhood and young adulthood Suddenly, women 5 of every 1,000 people

Somatization Disorder May have long-lasting physical ailments that have little or no organic basis Briquet’s Syndrome Range of ailments… Doctor to doctor Runs in families Begins between... And lasts…

Pain Disorder Associated with Psychological Factors Patients with a conversion of somatization disorder may also experience pain, but… Fairly common More women than men Often develops after an accident or during an illness

Factitious Disorder People go to extremes to create appearance of illness Give themselves meds secretly Munchausen Syndrome Munchausen Syndrome by proxy

Preoccupation Somatoform Disorders Misinterpret and overreact to bodily symptoms Hypochondriasis— Begins at any age DSM Checklist Dysmorphophobia— Focus on wrinkles,… Bad odors… Great lengths to hide “defects” Begin during adolescence

Causes of Somatoform Disorders May have been acquired earlier in life through conditioning or modeling So sensitive to and threatened by bodily cues that they come to over interpret them Brings rewards Forms of communication

Somatoform Disorder Treatment Go to physician first Typically receive kinds of treatments applied to anxiety disorders

Dissociative Disorders Dissociative Amnesia— Specific upsetting events 4 kinds-localized, selective, generalized, continuous Localized is most common All deal with personal material Memory for abstract info remains Triggers? Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Fugue Definition— Can be brief Extreme cases new identity! Follows a severely stressful event Affects personal memory Tend to end suddenly-”awaken” Most regain all of memories when over

Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality) Definition— Subpersonalities— The host Switching Early adulthood diagnosis Starts in childhood 97% physically/sexually abused 100 observed in a case Most have 2-3 at a time

How to explain it Repression of painful memories, thoughts or impulses Lifetime of repression Bad thoughts, try to disown and assign them to other personalities Conditioning-bad event, get relief when minds drift

Treatment Psychodynamic therapy Hypnotic therapy Drugs Multiple treatment difficult Recognizing the disorder, recovering memories, and integrating the subpersonalities