Somatization Disorder

A very specific set of symptoms defines this somatoform disorder. The individual must have a history of physical complaints beginning before he or she is 30 years old that has caused significant distress or impairment. Among the complaints there must have been at least four pain symptoms, two symptoms involving the digestive tract, one involving sexual functioning, and one symptom involving the nervous system. The symptoms could have occurred at any time prior to the examination. The pain can have occurred at any place, during any activity; similarly, there are no further restrictions on the place or time of the other three classes of symptoms.

The second requirement is that the symptoms cannot be adequately explained by any observable medical condition or by the effects of a drug. Finally, it must appear that the symptoms are not produced deliberately by the examinee.

Somatization Disorder (SD) is relatively rare, and probably more common in women than in men. No more than 1 man in 500, and perhaps 1 woman in 200, has SD. People with the disorder may consult multiple physicians and receive many tests, and even operations, that turn out to be unnecessary. The disorder is likely to be lifelong; patients who seek or are referred to mental health professionals are difficult to convince that their symptoms have little physical basis, given that the patient did not voluntarily produce the symptoms. Denying the validity of the symptoms simply makes the patient seek another professional who acknowledges the genuineness of the symptoms. Patients' colorful, though often inconsistent, descriptions of their symptoms may initially be convincing to the physicians that they so often consult. Maxmen and Ward¹ recommend that physicians and the families of the patients cooperate and make the patient feel supported, while refusing to encourage excessive complaints about symptoms. Emphasis should be on dealing more effectively with the disorder, rather than on trying to "cure" it. 

You can go directly to a physician's web page on somatization disorder by clicking here.

Another useful link may be to PsychNet.

                                                                                                                                Last updated  12/19/03