Download Understanding Health Anxiety & Identity Detachment in Somatoform & Dissociative Disorders and more Study notes Abnormal Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 6 Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders 1 SOMATOFORM DISORDERS Group of disorders related to a preoccupation with health or body appearance. Preoccupation with health or body appearance. More often to be treated in hospitals or doctors office (medical setting) One type of somatoform disorder is: Hypochondriasis - severe anxiety about the possibility of having a serious disease, despite medical reassurance that this is untrue. • Focus on bodily symptoms • Little benefit from medical reassurance • High co-occurance with anxiety/mood disorders • Strong disease conviction • Misperceptions of symptom • High trait anxiety Causes: • General biological predisposition • Familial history of illness • Modeling/learning • Other factors (stressful life events; “benefits” of illness) Treatment: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy • Identify and challenge misinterpretations • “Symptom creation” • Stress-reduction Therapy is more effective than medications, but both are only marginally helpful SSRIs may help if depressed or anxious Somatization disorder - extended history of multiple physical complaints before age 30 and substantial impairment in social or occupational functioning. How it differs from hypochondriasis - Don’t feel like they have 1 life threatening problem. They just have a list of aches and pains and think of themselves as just being sick a lot. Causes: • History of family illness or injury • Dependent personality traits • Tending to express psychological problems and stress through physical symptoms Treatment: • Reduce frequency of help-seeking behaviors: • “Gatekeeper” physician • Reduce visits to numerous specialists Chapter 6 Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders 2 • Conditioning • Reward positive health behaviors • Cognitive-behavioral interventions • Stress-reduction • Conversion Disorder - Physical malfunctioning, such as blindness or paralysis, but with no organic pathology to account for it. Symptoms could be blindness, paralysis of a body part, mutism, deafness, apparent seizures, or any other physical malfunctioning. The person is not malingering (faking). Causes: Can be from traumatic experience Possible genetic vulnerability to stress? Freud's views • Trauma, conflict experience • Repression • “Conversion” to physical symptoms • Secondary gain Other causes: Family/social/cultural • Limited disease knowledge • Family history of illness Treatment: Similar to those for somatization disorder • Treat effects of trauma • Remove secondary gains • Reward positive health behaviors Body Dysmorphic Disorder - preoccupation with some imagined defect in appearance, despite reasonably normal appearance. Often centers around facial features, but could relate to any part of the body. Influenced by cultural standards of attractiveness. • Impaired social and occupational functioning • Fixation or avoidance of mirrors • Suicidal ideation and behavior • Influenced by cultural standards of attractiveness • Plastic surgery is usually NOT helpful Statistics: • About equal in females and males • Onset = early 20’s • Chronic course if untreated • Not clear if any genetic cause or whether mostly psychological Similarities with OCD:
