You’re probably not sick

Somatic Symptom Disorder; The case of emotional illness.Hello dear reader, you are officially welcome to my first blog post here on Olives Corner

So it’s most likely that you have “felt sick” at one point in your life without actually testing positive for any particular disease. It’s very likely that 95% of the time you are somatizing. By the time you reach the end of this post, you should understand the criteria for diagnosing somatic disorders, and understand the treatment process.

 
What is Somatic Symptom Disorder?

So let us jump right into it, somatic disorders are Symptoms that involve physical problems and concerns about a medical condition. These symptoms usually do not involve any medical condition, in short, they are purely psychological. Hold up, no you are not crazy. Take a closer look at your symptom and you will realize that it is most of the time associated with certain excessive thoughts, emotions, or feelings which also hinder your daily functioning and routine and causes distress. This is when you can diagnose a Somatic Symptom Disorder. This does not mean that anytime you cannot find anything medically wrong with you, you are experiencing a Somatic Symptom Disorder. Relax! The emphasis is on the extent to which excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors affect how you are feeling.

 Examples of Somatic Symptom Disorder
An example of these symptoms can be shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness, fainting, digestive discomfort, and even pain during sex. These symptoms may not necessarily have an underlying medical condition.
People would typically go to a primary care physician rather than a mental health professional, also people may not want to accept that their conditions may be due to a psychological problem. Who wants to hear that right??

Treatment of SSD

Emotions, thoughts, or feelings cannot be cured and as such treatment for this disorder is aimed at controlling the symptoms and getting the individual to function as normal as possible. And No! There are no “home remedies” for Somatic Symptom Disorder.
You will have to see a mental health professional. Just so you know, a one time session is not enough. Anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications can be prescribed if the individual is experiencing anxiety or depression. A doctor or physician can help to monitor the symptoms. Talk therapy is known to be of great help in managing Somatic Symptoms.
Thank you for taking the time to read, hope you learned something. Till next time, this has been Olives Corner.

Source: American Psychiatric Association (2013)
Diagnostic and Statiscal Manual Disorders (DSM-5)
Understanding Abnormal Behaviour (9th Edition)