What is a somatic child?

Somatic symptom and related disorders (SSDs) are a group of diseases in which youth have physical symptoms that are either very distressing or result in significant disruption of their daily functioning, as well as excessive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding those symptoms.

What are the 6 somatic symptom disorders?

They include somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder, hypochondriasis, conversion disorder, pain disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and somatoform disorder not otherwise specified. These disorders often cause significant emotional distress for patients and are a challenge to family physicians.

What is a somatic symptom in a child?

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a common disorder encountered in pediatric medicine. It involves the presentation of physical symptoms that are either disproportionate or inconsistent with history, physical examination, laboratory, and other investigative findings.

What is a somatic disorder?

Somatic symptom disorder is diagnosed when a person has a significant focus on physical symptoms, such as pain, weakness or shortness of breath, to a level that results in major distress and/or problems functioning. The individual has excessive thoughts, feelings and behaviors relating to the physical symptoms.

What is somatic kids?

Somatic symptom disorder is a mental health disorder that can affect children. Children who have somatic symptom disorder worry a lot about physical feelings that are pretty normal — like headaches, stomachaches, or being tired. These small issues make them think they have a serious sickness.

What are somatic symptoms?

How can I help my somatic child?

The treatment for somatic symptoms may not be what families expect. Instead of receiving a medication or procedure, children are often referred to a psychologist for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a well-established and scientifically supported intervention for somatic symptoms.

Is somatic a mental disorder?

What is somatic symptom disorder? Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a mental health condition in which a person feels significantly distressed about physical symptoms and has abnormal thoughts, feelings and behaviors in response to them. The disorder disrupts their daily functioning and quality of life.

Is somatic disorder serious?

If you have somatic symptom disorder, you may experience significant emotional and physical distress. Treatment can help ease symptoms, help you cope and improve your quality of life.

What are the four characteristics of a somatic symptom disorder?

According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), somatic symptom disorder (SSD) involves one or more physical symptoms accompanied by an excessive amount of time, energy, emotion, and/or behavior related to the symptom that results in significant distress and/or ...

Is anxiety a somatic symptom?

When you're anxious and stressed, your fight-or-flight response kicks into gear, releasing chemicals that can cause tension and pain in your body. Anxiety that manifests in your body is called somatic anxiety. It may feel like a headache, tight shoulders, or an upset stomach.

What are the somatic symptoms of ADHD?

Research shows that, compared to those without ADHD, those with ADHD are more likely to suffer migraines, digestive issues, muscle pain, and insomnia. Since most ADHD brains do not linger on unpleasant issues, somatic discomforts often remain unaddressed.

How do you treat somatic disorder?

Cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based therapy are effective for the treatment of somatic symptom disorder. Amitriptyline, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and St. John's wort are effective pharmacologic treatments for somatic symptom disorder.

Does somatic symptom disorder run in families?

Like many medical problems, somatic symptom and related disorders often run in families. They also tend to come and go over time.

How do you live with someone with somatic symptom disorder?

Spouses and family members can take the same approach. Avoid direct confrontation about the truthfulness of the symptoms and help the person identify creative and practical solutions and coping strategies that can minimize the problems caused by the symptoms.

Is Fibromyalgia a somatic disorder?

Fibromyalgia, similar to other medically unexplained pain syndromes, may be classified in numerous ways (e.g., functional somatic syndrome, chronic widespread pain syndrome, persistent somatoform pain disorder, somatic symptom disorder, affective spectrum condition, and central sensitivity syndrome) (12, 18).

What is the test for somatic symptom disorder?

The PHQ-15, WI-7, and SAIB are useful screening instruments for detecting somatic symptom disorder as described in the DSM-5. The SSS-8 is an abbreviated PHQ-15 that has been demonstrated to be a reliable and valid self-report measure for somatic symptom burden.

Which personality trait is strongly associated with somatic symptom disorders?

The significant associations between neuroticism and somatic complaints and somatic comorbidity found in TCSs are in line with large population studies confirming the link between common somatic symptoms and neuroticism [10].

Can somatic symptoms go away?

Yes! Many of the symptoms that are caused by somatization go away on their own. If these symptoms last more than a few weeks or months, they may need more active treatment. With treatment, some children are symptom free.

What is an example of a somatic symptom disorder?

Somatic symptom disorder is diagnosed when a person has a significant focus on physical symptoms, such as pain, weakness or dizziness, to a level that results in major distress and/or problems with daily activities.

What is an example of a somatic delusion?

Common somatic delusions are that the person is infested by insects or parasites, that he or she is emitting a foul odor, that parts of the body are not functioning, or that certain parts of the body are misshapen and ugly even in the absence of objective evidence.

How common are somatic disorders?

Somatic symptom disorders are relatively common, affecting about 5–7% of the population of the United States. It can affect children, teenagers and adults. Its prevalence is far higher in women than in men, and the female to male ratio of patients is about 10:1.

Is PTSD a somatic disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with both (1) 'ill-defined' or 'medically unexplained' somatic syndromes, e.g. unexplained dizziness, tinnitus and blurry vision, and syndromes that can be classified as somatoform disorders (DSM-IV-TR); and (2) a range of medical conditions, with a preponderance of ...

What causes somatic dysfunction?

Somatic dysfunction can be caused by acute or chronic postural deviations or alterations of a body part or region. Most commonly this occurs from sudden movements during a slip or fall, but can also be from biomechanical deviations as well as postural abnormalitites.

What is an example of somatization?

Somatization is the expression of psychological or emotional factors as physical (somatic) symptoms. For example, stress can cause some people to develop headaches, chest pain, back pain, nausea or fatigue.