Psychology 2030A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Somatic Symptom Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Dissociative Disorder

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2030A/B
• Professor: Bruce Morrison

Document Summary

Somatoform disorders: soma means body, and the problems that preoccupy these people seem to initially be physical disorders. However, there is usually no identifiable medical condition causing the physical complaints. In other words, the pathological concerns of the individual are with the appearance or functioning of their bodies, however there is usually a lack of any identifiable medical concern/reason. Dissociative experiences or dissociation: mild sensations that most people experience occasionally, such as slight alterations or detachments in consciousness or identity. Historically somatoform and dissociative disorders were strongly linked and used to be categorized under one general heading called hysterical neurosis and were thought to occur primarily in women. There are 5 basic somatoform disorders: hypochondriasis, somatisation disorder, conversion disorder, pain disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder (each are described below) In each of these disorders, individuals are pathologically concerned with the appearance or functioning of their bodies.