Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders Lesson 16-3

Bell Ringer Read excerpt on p. 460

Somatoform Disorders Characterized by physical symptoms brought on by psychological stress –Physical symptoms for which there is no apparent cause –Also called hysteria –Used by Sigmund Freud for unexplainable fainting, paralysis, or deafness

Somatoform Disorders Two types of somatoform disorders –Conversion disorder –Hypochondriasis

Conversion Disorder Conversion disorder is changing emotional difficulties into a loss of specific body function –No actual physical damage is present –They usually accept the loss with relative calm –They invent physical symptoms to gain freedom from an unbearable conflict

Hypochondiasis Person spends time looking for signs of serious illness Even after evaluations, they continue to believe a disease exists –Mainly in young adulthood –Affects both males and females

Dissociative Disorders A disorder in which a person experiences alterations in memory, identity, or consciousness –Very rare Dissociative amnesia –The inability to recall important personal events or information; is usually associated with stressful events –Not from normal forgetting, brain injuries, or traumatic event

Dissociative Disorders Dissociative Fugue –Amnesia where a person suddenly and unexpectedly travels away from home or work Fugue state may last for days or weeks Usually to escape unbearable conflict or anxiety Will have no memory of it when they come out of it

Dissociative Disorders Dissociative Identity Disorder –Previously known as multiple personality disorder –Person exhibits two or more personality states, each with its own patterns of thinking and behaving. –Some believe it is an individual’s effort to escape a part of themselves that they fear –Extremely rare