Question

how common are somatic form disorders discuss some risk factors that are associated with somatoform disorders how are these disorders diagnosed and treated

Answer 1

Somatic Symptom Disorder also known as Somatoform disorder, is a psychological disorder which is associated with physical or bodily symptoms like, feeling intense pain in some part of the body, fatigue and shortness in breath. Somatoform disorder, is a mental condition where a person has strong thoughts and feelings that result in having physical symptoms which cannot be explained medically. They cannot feel any sensation in a particular part of their body, they hyperventilate and feel like they can't breathe when they go through a stressful situation. An individual is not lying or faking about their symptoms. They feel genuine pain, but when examined by the doctor, there is no medical explanation for it.

The risk factors associated with Somatoform Disorder, unreasonably feeling anxious, having depression, experiencing a traumatic event in past like an accident, sexual abuse or losing a loved one, are a few.

The diagnosis for somatoform disorder includes, visiting a physician for a thorough medical check-up, talk about your symptoms and how you feel about it, when the doctor does not find any explanation for an individual's physical problem, they are referred to a psychologist for further investigation. A psychologist can confirm an individual's somatoform disorder only by referring to the criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders.

Treatment for somatoform disorder includes, Cognitive behavioral therapy; in this kind of a therapy, a person is made to change the way she/he thinks. Cognitive behavioral therapy works on the concept of how thinking affects an individual's behavior. A person is asked to focus on situations that bring stress with them and leads them, to feeling pain or feel like they cannot breathe. Once a person discovers it for himself, he is more likely to be careful and avoids letting a situation arise that leads to him feeling the physical symptoms of somatoform disorder.