A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder, is any mental disorder that manifests as physical symptoms that suggest illness or injury, but cannot be explained fully by a general medical condition or by the direct effect of a substance, and are not attributable to another mental disorder (e.g., panic disorder). Somatic symptom disorders, as a group, are included in a number of diagnostic schemes of mental illness, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (Before DSM-5 this disorder was split into somatization disorder and undifferentiated somatoform disorder.) In people who have been diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder, medical test results are either normal or do not explain the persons symptoms (medically unexplained physical symptoms), and history and physical examination do not indicate the presence of a known medical condition that could cause them, though the DSM-5 cautions that this alone is not sufficient for diagnosis. The patient must also be excessively worried about their symptoms, and this worry must be judged to be out of proportion to the severity of the physical complaints themselves. A diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder requires that the subject have recurring somatic complaints for at least six months.Symptoms are sometimes similar to those of other illnesses and may last for years. Usually, the symptoms begin appearing during adolescence, and patients are diagnosed before the age of 30 years. Symptoms may occur across cultures and gender. Other common symptoms include anxiety and depression.
Misdiagnosis
In the opinion of Allen Frances, chair of the DSM-IV task force, the DSM-5s somatic symptom disorder brings with it a risk of mislabeling a sizable proportion of the population as mentally ill. Millions of people could be mislabeled, with the burden falling disproportionately on women, because they are more likely to be casually dismissed as catastrophizers when presenting with physical symptoms. See also
References
Further reading
Suzanne OSullivan (2017). Is It All in Your Head? : True Stories of Imaginary Illness. Other Press. ISBN 978-1590517956.