82:161 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Anterograde Amnesia, Psychopathology, Implicit Memory
Document Summary
The somatic symptom disorders lie at the interface between abnormal psychology and medicine. They are a group of conditions that involve physical symptoms combined with abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to those symptoms. Equally key to these disorders is the fact that the affected patients have no control over their symptoms. They are also not intentionally faking symptoms or attempting to deceive others. In factitious disorder the person intentionally produces psychological or physical symptoms (or both). In malingering the person is intentionally producing or grossly exaggerating physical symptoms and is motivated by external incentives such as avoiding work or military service or evading criminal prosecution. Somatic symptom disorders individuals must be experiencing chronic somatic symptoms that are distressing to them and they must also be experiencing dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors. Symptoms have to have persisted for at least six months. Patients with somatic symptom disorder are usually seen in medical clinics.
