Somatoform Disorders
The main categories of somatoform disorders are:
- Somatization Disorder
Multiple, recurrent somatic complaints occurring over a period of several years, which are not caused by any physical disorder. - Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder
One or more somatic complaints lasting for at least 6 months and not meeting the criteria for somatization disorder.
- Conversion Disorder
A sudden, dramatic loss of physical function that has no known pathophysiological cause and appears to be a manifestation of a psychological need or conflict. - Pain Disorder
Pain in the absence of a corresponding physical disorder or pathophysiological explanation, which is associated with psychological factors that play a role in its etiology. - Hypochondriasis
Unfounded fears of having a serious illness. - Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Preoccupation with an imagined defect in appearance. In some cases, the person may have minor physical abnormalities, but the distress experienced in relation to these is disproportionate to the severity of the condition.
References:
Kaplan & Sadock: Synopsis of Psychiatry, twelfth edition
Kaplan & Sadock: Pocket Handbook of Clinical Psychiatry, fifth edition;
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, 1994;
Robert J. Waldinger: Psychiatry for Medical Students, third edition, translated by Anastas Suli.