Before we begin this article I would like to say the following:
I am not a professional! This information comes from personal experience along with all sources linked below the article. I wrote this to raise awareness about mental health disorders theatre less common and not well known and break any stigmas that come with the disorder.
So what is Somatization Disorder?
'Soma' means body and a Somatic symptom is a physical sensation that occurs throughout the body. Somatization Disorders occur when these physical symptoms have no physical reason behind them. This is a mental disorder and must be diagnosed by a mental health professional. Somatization disorder is also called, Somatic Symptom Disorder or SSD. There are a few different types of this disorder and each have their own symptoms and effects on a persons life.
What are the main types of Somatic Disorders?
- Somatic symptom Disorder (somatization disorder)
- Conversional Disorder
- Pain Disorder
- PNES (Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures)
- Somatization not otherwise specified
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Hypochondriasis
Symptoms that come with these disorders?
While each type of Somatic Disorder has its own set of symptoms there are a few things that remain constant (in most cases). These are mental disorders with physical symptoms that can include but are not limited to; pain, fevers, nausea, numbness, temporary hearing/vision loss, high levels of anxiety, feelings and thoughts about the severity of the somatic symptoms, dizziness, seizures, blackouts, dissociation, gastro symptoms, sexual problems, pseudoneurological symptom(s), and unrealistic thoughts or believes about symptoms.
Are people with Somatic Disorders faking their symptoms?
Just because the sensations have no physical reason to be present does not mean that they don't exist. People with Somatic conditions actually feel the symptoms happening and believe them to be real and often more serious than reality. Somatic symptom sufferer actually believe and feel that what is happening to them is part of a physical illness rather than a mental one. This is not to be confused with factitious disorders and malingering. In factitious disorders and malingering disorders, false information regarding physical symptoms is given intentionally, whereas, in somatic disorders, any deception is not intensional.
Treatment?
Due to this being a mental disorder rather than a physical illness, seeing a psychologist regularly and learning coping mechanisms for stressful situations is really they only way to treat a somatic disorder. Anti anxiety medication may also be prescribed by a psychiatrist if recommended.
Do I have a diagnosis? How did I get it?
I do have a somatic disorder. When I got diagnosed with DID I also found out that I have somatisation disorder or SSD. This is when you feel physical symptoms without reason to be feeling them. I was always very anxious, from when I was a kid til now, and I always thought I was physically ill, scared to throw up, thought I would die every time I had a common cold, had awful headaches, feel nausea at least 2 times a day and I even developed an eating disorder when I was younger due to thinking I got food poisoning eveytime I ate litlerally anything. This was always just passed off as me being super anxious and that was partly it, but I didn't even know that somatic disorders existed until it was on paper that I had it. My psychologist diagnosed me with the same thing she used to diagnosed my DID and I was not expecting to get 2 diagnosis on that day haha.
How would I define Somatic Disorders?
Experiencing physical symptoms throughout the body with no medical reason behind the sensations.
How does it effect my daily life?
I get regular headaches and dizziness that I often link to dehydration despite knowing that I have drank plenty of water. I also get nausea after eating food and this could simply be because I am full or ate too much/too little, but I jump to the conclusion that I will throw up and need to go the doctors if not the hospital. If I have bad cramps I will panic and think my appendix might explode or something else internally is going wrong. I have been to hospital a few times with chest pain thinking it was heart attack only for it to be the end of a panic attack, heart burn or needing to burp. So with all of that accounted for, it makes my life very difficult and over dramatic.
Has your disorder been passed off as something else?
Yes, as I mentioned I was just told for years that it was just my anxiety and I just had to get over it and know that I would be fine. Then it got passed off as being too stressed out. And obviously the whole overdramatic 'you are faking it' situation.
Is a diagnosis important?
Yes! I believe that in any disorder getting the diagnosis is so validating and reassuring even if its scary and confusing at first it just makes everything so much easier to explain and come to terms with. If you think you could has a somatic disorder just mention it to a psychologist and hopefully they will help you figure it out.
I hope that this was helpful to some of you guys out there and let me know if you would like another post about Somatic Symptom Disorders or more about my personal experiences with SSD.
Have an amazing day and thank you for the support :)
Jen xx
Resources:
https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/918628-overview#a1
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/somatoform-disorders-symptoms-types-treatment#2
https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-au/professional/psychiatric-disorders/somatic-symptom-and-related-disorders/somatic-symptom-disorder
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/somatic-symptom-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20377776
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