Catastrophic thinking could lead a person to believe that slight ailments, such as mild muscle pain or shortness of breath, are evidence of a serious illness such as cancer or a tumor. These thoughts can then be reinforced by supportive social connections. A spouse who responds more to his or her partners pain cues makes it more likely that he or she will express greater pain. Children of parents who are preoccupied or overly attentive to the somatic complaints of their children are more likely to develop somatic symptoms. Severe cognitive distortions can make a person with SSD limit the behaviors he or she engages in, and cause increased disability and impaired functioning. Neuroimaging evidence
A recent review of the cognitive–affective neuroscience of somatization disorder suggested that catastrophization in patients with somatization disorders tends to present a greater vulnerability to pain. The relevant brain regions include the dorsolateral prefrontal, insular, rostral anterior cingulate, premotor, and parietal cortices. Treatments
To date, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the best established treatment for a variety of somatoform disorders including somatization disorder. CBT aims to help patients realize their ailments are not catastrophic and to enable them to gradually return to activities they previously engaged in, without fear of "worsening their symptoms". Consultation and collaboration with the primary care physician also demonstrated some effectiveness. The use of antidepressants is preliminary but does not yet show conclusive evidence.
Medical examination would provide object evidence of subjective complaints of the individual.Diagnosis of somatization disorder is difficult because it is hard to determine to what degree psychological factors are exacerbating subjective feelings of pain. For instance, chronic pain is common in 30% of the U.S. population, making it difficult to determine whether or not the pain is due to predominantly psychological factors. ICD-10
In ICD-10, the latest version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, somatization syndrome is described as:
"The main features are multiple, recurrent and frequently changing physical symptoms of at least two years duration. Most patients have a long and complicated history of contact with both primary and specialist medical care services, during which many negative investigations or fruitless exploratory operations may have been carried out. Symptoms may be referred to any part or system of the body. The course of the disorder is chronic and fluctuating, and is often associated with disruption of social, interpersonal, and family behaviour." ICD-10 also includes the following subgroups of somatization syndrome:
Undifferentiated somatoform disorder. Hypochondriasis. Somatoform autonomic dysfunction. Persistent somatoform pain disorder. Other somatoform disorders, such ones predominated by dysmenorrhoea, dysphagia, pruritus and torticollis. Somatoform disorder, unspecified. Cause
Although somatization disorder has been studied and diagnosed for more than a century, there is debate and uncertainty regarding its pathophysiology. Most current explanations focus on the concept of a misconnection between the mind and the body.