Questions and Answers
What does the term psychosomatic convey?
The connection between the mind and the body in states of health and illness
Which medical illnesses are influenced by stress and emotions?
Diabetes, hypertension, and colitis
What are 'tension headaches' typically a manifestation of?
Stress
What does the term 'hysteria' refer to?
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Where is the concept of hysteria believed to have originated?
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In which historical period was hysteria associated with witchcraft and demons?
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What were people with hysteria, usually women, considered to be in the past?
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What does the term 'psychosomatic' literally mean?
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What is the primary influence on the worsening of symptoms of medical illnesses?
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What can cause physical symptoms unrelated to a diagnosed medical illness?
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What is another term for factitious disorders?
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Who is most likely to experience factitious disorders?
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What is the term used for physical symptoms and limitations of function that have no medical diagnoses to explain their existence?
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What is more acceptable to the patient due to its lack of connotation of 'it’s all in your head'?
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What is an effective treatment from patients’ perspectives for dealing with symptoms and limitations?
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What is the term used for people who injure clients or their children through causing fabricated or induced illnesses?
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What is the overlap between terms used in general medical settings and somatic disorders diagnosed in mental health settings?
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Who is more likely to experience Munchausen syndrome by proxy?
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What is the term used for fabricated or induced illnesses?
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What do MUS and functional somatic syndromes refer to?
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Who proposed that unexpressed emotions can be converted into physical symptoms?
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What is the term for physical symptoms that suggest a medical condition without a demonstrable organic basis?
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Which disorder involves intentionally producing or feigning symptoms solely to gain attention?
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What is the term for a person inflicting illness or injury on someone else to gain attention?
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Which physician identified hysteria as a disorder of the nervous system?
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What percentage of the general population may somatic symptom disorders represent?
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What did Freud observe improved people with hysteria?
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Which term refers to the intentional production of false or exaggerated symptoms for external incentives?
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What did Freud propose unexpressed emotions can be converted into?
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What is the term for a disorder involving physical complaints without organic basis, psychological factors, and lack of conscious control over symptoms?
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Study Notes
Understanding Somatic Symptom Illnesses
- Hysteria was identified as a disorder of the nervous system by French physicians Paul Briquet and Jean-Martin Charcot.
- Sigmund Freud, working with Charcot, observed that people with hysteria improved with hypnosis and experienced relief from physical symptoms when recalling memories and expressing emotions.
- Freud proposed that unexpressed emotions can be converted into physical symptoms, a process now referred to as somatization.
- Somatic symptom illnesses involve physical symptoms that suggest a medical condition without a demonstrable organic basis.
- The three central features of somatic symptom illnesses include physical complaints without organic basis, psychological factors and conflicts initiating and maintaining symptoms, and lack of conscious control over symptoms.
- Somatic symptom disorders include somatic symptom disorder, conversion disorder, pain disorder, and illness anxiety disorder.
- These disorders are more common in women and may represent about 5% to 7% of the general population.
- Somatic symptom illnesses need to be distinguished from malingering and factitious disorders, where people feign or intentionally produce symptoms for some purpose or gain.
- Malingering involves intentional production of false or exaggerated symptoms for external incentives, while factitious disorder involves intentionally producing or feigning symptoms solely to gain attention.
- Factitious disorder imposed on others, commonly called Munchausen syndrome by proxy, occurs when a person inflicts illness or injury on someone else to gain attention.
- Understanding somatic symptom illnesses is crucial for healthcare professionals to provide appropriate support and care to individuals experiencing these disorders.
- The prevalence and impact of somatic symptom illnesses highlight the importance of accurate diagnosis and understanding among healthcare professionals.
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