However, true psychogenic pain is considered to be rare. Some sources have assigned or categorized AFP as a psychosomatic manifestation of somatoform disorder, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. Distinction should be made between somatoform disorder, where affected individuals are not inventing the symptom for some benefit, and other conditions like factitious disorder or malingering.Recent evidence in chronic facial pain research appear to suggest that a proportion of individuals who have been diagnosed with AFP have neuropathic pain,AFP is described as one of the 4 recognizable symptom complexes of chronic facial pain, along with burning mouth syndrome, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) and atypical odontalgia. However, there is a degree of overlap between the features of these diagnoses, e.g. between AFP and TMD and burning mouth syndrome. Atypical odontalgia is similar in nature to AFP, but the latter term generally is used where the pain is confined to the teeth or gums, and AFP when the pain involves other parts of the face. Other sources use atypical odontalgia and AFP as synonyms, or describe atypical odontalgia as a sub-type, variant, or intra-oral equivalent of AFP. Sometimes "phantom tooth pain" is listed as a synonym for AO, and sometimes it is defined as toothache which persists after a tooth has been extracted. It has been suggested that it is likely that these terms do not represent a single, discrete condition, but rather a collection of misdiagnosed and as yet unidentified causes.
Brain fag syndrome (BFS) describes a set of symptoms; somatic, sleep-related and cognitive complaints, difficulty in concentrating and retaining information, head and or neck pains, and eye pain. Brain Fag is very common in adolescents and young adults. It is believed to be the most common in these age ranges due to the immense amount of pressure occurring in life during these years. The condition was arguably first described in Nigerian high school and university students in the 1960s. It is considered a culture-bound syndrome caused by excessive pressure to be successful among the young. Etymology
The term brain fag presumably stems from the verb meaning of the word, "To cause (a person, animal, or part of the body) to become tired; to fatigue, wear out" chiefly found in British English. Classification
BFS is classified in the fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as a culture-bound syndrome. Individuals with symptoms of brain fag must be differentiated from those with the syndrome according to the Brain Fag Syndrome Scale (BFSS); Ola et al said it would not be "surpris[ing] if BFS was called an equivalent of either depression or anxiety". Causes
Brain Fag is typically driven in people with high anxiety and people with high stress levels. Morakinyo found in 20 people with BFS an achievement drive that was anxiety-related that led to the use of psychostimulants and consequent sleep deprivation which contributed to cognitive disruption. Omoluabi related BFS to test anxiety.