Somatization
Somatization is a tendency to experience and communicate
Somatization is a worldwide phenomenon.[4] A somatization spectrum can be identified, up to and including at one extreme somatization disorder.[clarification needed][5]
Related psychological conditions
Somatization can be, but is not always, related to a psychological condition such as:[6]
- Affective disorders(anxiety and depression)
- Somatoform disorders
The
Ego defense
In
Children
While it is normal for stresses and strains in a child's life to be expressed in bodily pains/upsets,[10] there is evidence that children in families where bodily complaints receive special attention are significantly more likely to use somatization as a defence in later life.[11]
Treatment
Treatment for somatic symptom disorders combine different strategies for managing the patient's symptoms, including regularly scheduled outpatient visits, psychosocial interventions (such as joint meetings with family members),[12] psychoeducation, and treatment of prominent comorbid symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Based on multiple systematic reviews,[13][14] the initial suggested treatment for somatic disorder is regular, scheduled outpatient visits (every 4–8 weeks) that are not based on active symptoms. These visits should focus on establishing a therapeutic alliance, legitimizing the somatic symptoms, and limiting diagnostic tests and referral to specialists.
Cultural examples
Author Virginia Woolf's mental and emotional difficulties were often expressed directly in physical symptoms: "Such 'sensations' spread over my spine & head...the horror – physically like a painful wave about the heart".[15]
See also
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Identified patient
- Amplification (psychology)
- Hypochondriasis
- Medically unexplained physical symptoms
- The Nocebo effect: A similar effect of symptoms being caused by psychological effects.
References
- PMID 3056044.
- ^ Adriana Feder, M.D. Somatization
- ^ R. L. Woolfolk/L. A. Allen, Treating Somatization (2006) p. 5
- ^ P. S. Sutker/H. E. Adams, Comprehensive Handbook of Psychopathology (2001) p. 217
- ^ Woolfolk/Allen, pp. 14–5
- PMID 15673634.
- ^ Antai-Otong, D, (2008), Psychiatric Nursing Biological and Beahvioural Concepts, 2nd ed, Delmar, New York
- ^ P. S. Sutker/H. E. Adams, Comprehensive Handbook of Psychopathology (2001) p. 216
- S2CID 20095444.
- ^ D. W. Winnicott, The Child, the Family, and the Outside World (1973) p. 129
- ^ Woolfolk/Allen, p. 217
- ^ Woolfolk, pp. 41–3
- PMID 20951278.
- PMID 25134874.
- ^ Quoted in Hermione Lee, Virginia Woolf (1996) p. 187