Just the facts, mam. Conversion disorder usually involves a single symptom which is neurologic or pain-related. Symptoms of chronic somatization differ from psychoses in that the symptoms of the psychotic patient are bizarre and more vivid, persist over time, are unaltered by reasoned argument, and are not congruent with the patient’s social or cultural background. The delusional nature of psych...otic somatic symptoms usually unfolds as the patient talks. The essential feature of the histrionic (hysterical) personality is a pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking. People with this disorder constantly seek to be the center of attention. Emotions are often expressed with inappropriate exaggeration. People with this disorder tend to be very self-centered and have little tolerance for delayed gratification. These people are typically attractive and seductive, often to the point of looking flamboyant and acting inappropriately. Features of primary hypochondriasis include the patient’s fixed conviction that he or she is ill, the interpretation of all somatic changes as confirmation of this, and a relentless pursuit of medical assistance despite persistent dissatisfaction with the results. The patient’s symptoms remain consistent for years. Physicians frequently feel overwhelmed when initially presented with a patient with somatization disorder. This disorder begins before age 30 and is rarely seen in males. The patient complains of multiple symptoms which involve many organ systems and do not readily conform to patterns seen in organic diseases. The patient skips back and forth from symptom to symptom during the interview. Anxiety and depressed mood are frequent in this disorder, and suicide attempts are common. Ref: Hales RE, Yudofsky SC (ed): Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, ed 4. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2003, pp 660-665, 818-820.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 11:40:48 +0000
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