PSYC 3406 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Somatic Symptom Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Conversion Disorder

• School: Northeastern University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3406
• Professor: Ann Blumer

Document Summary

Stress and anxiety contribute to several other kinds of disorders than those we"ve already seen. Disorders in which an individual is experiencing symptoms involving physical problems and/or some major concerns about their physical/medical conditions. Unrealistically interpret bodily symptoms as signs of a serious illness- chronic anxiety or preoccupation with this idea: often symptoms are normal bodily changes, easily preoccupied- seeks out medical tests & treatments. The stigma: others don"t take it seriously- don"t realize how distraught the person can be, may become annoyed within the person"s endless self-preoccupation, unable to stop their worry & tends to increase over time. Theories of causation: serious illness in family/recent death can trigger it. Date: 3/21/16: behavioral: similar to phobias, is caused by classical conditioning or modeling, cognitive: person misinterprets bodily symptoms because they"re so threatened by them. Treatment: antidepressants can reduce anxiety, particularly those most helpful with.