There is not one definition of somatoform disorder; it consists of many problems with the person that is diagnosed with it. There are many physical symptoms that can't be fully explained which lead to this physical disorder. Many scientists and doctors that have studied this disorder describe it as impulses sent to the brain mostly of unpleasant thoughts such as the brain making the person think that he or she is sick when they are really not. The people diagnosed with somatoform disorder usually have it passed down by their relatives and it's not something that's contagious. .
Symptoms caused by somatoform disorder usually include: decreased sexual urges in males and females, abdominal cramping, pelvic pain, back pain, frequent headaches, pain in the joints, nausea, bloating, vomiting, food in tolerance and diarrhea. These symptoms are severe enough to cause significant distress. No medical condition can fully explain these symptoms.
Most cases of somatoform disorder are usually diagnosed in women but it's very likely for men to be diagnosed also. Twenty percent of these cases begin before puberty. The common number of diagnosed cases peaked in 13 year-old adolescences. Some of these cases associated with children, are often caused by childhood sexual abuse.
Having this disorder causes the diagnosed person to have impaired academic performance, difficulty maintaining relationships, dependency on parents, low self-esteem, unnecessary hospitalization, medication trials, and excessive, unnecessary surgical procedures.
There are not many ways to treat this disorder other than a psychotherapist talking with the individual. Psychotherapists have different names for the procedures. One of these procedures is adlerian therapy. adlerian therapy consists of the therapist stressing a positive view on the diagnosed persons life and that there in no such thing as fate, that we are all in control of our lives and not victim to them.
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In the DSM-IV, BDD is classified as a somatoform disorder (Allen & Hollander, 2000). A somatoform disorder is discernible by corporeal complaints for which no organic or physiological explanation is found and for which there is a strong probability that psychological factors are indeed involved. ...
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This may include anxiety, somatoform, and dissociative, mood, eating, substance use, psychosexual, psychotic, disruptive, and cognitive factors. ... When people have pseudo-neurological symptoms almost exclusively, they have a type of somatoform disorder known as conversion disorder. ...
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Obsessive compulsive disorder is marked by uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges to engage in senseless rituals (often feel they have lost control of their mind) * There is a genetic predisposition to anxiety disorders * Somatoform Disorders are physical ailments that cannot be fully explained by organic conditions and are largely due to psychological factors. It is marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be psychological in origin * Conversion disorder is characterized by a significant loss of physical function with no apparent organic basis, ...
