Somatic Symptom Disorder

Definition: It occurs in individuals experiencing exaggerated and disrupted physical symptoms in multiple areas of the body, accompanied by exaggerated thoughts impairing activities of daily living.

Symptoms: Muscle and joint pain, Low back pain, Tension headache, Chronic fatique, Non-cardiac chest pain, Palpitation, Non-ulcer dyspepsia, Irritable bowel, Dizziness, Insomnia

Treatment: You should have one primary care provider. You may also see a therapist. It's good to see a therapist who has works with treating SSD. take antidepressants to help relieve anxiety and depression. Observe your feelings and beliefs about health, Find ways to reduce stress and anxiety, Stop focusing as much on your physical symptoms, Recognize what seems to increase the pain, Learn how to cope with the pain or other symptoms, Stay active even if still pain is there or other symptoms are present, Function better in your daily life.Your provider should know how to work with you and how to handle both physical and emotional symptoms.

Statistics: The statistics related to Somatic symptom disorder, Information concerning the epidemiology of SSD as strictly defined by DSM-5 is hard to come by, as the umbrella term encompasses several different disorders. Such information as does exist in the literature chiefly relates to the individual disorders identified in DSM-IV. Epidemiological studies generally quote a prevalence of 0.1-0.2% for the general population and a figure of 5% has been quoted for general practice. One general practice study reported a prevalence rate of somatoform disorders of 16.1% increasing to 21.9% when disorders with mild impairment were included. The disorder usually begins before the age of 30 and occurs more often in women than in men.