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Discussion Activities
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Discussion Activities
Question 1
Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) occurs when a person experiences negative thoughts and physical symptoms about a particular disease. These feelings often get to the point of disrupting regular activities and can cause depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). On the contrary, Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD) involves excessive preoccupation about getting or having a disease despite the lack of physical symptoms (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). People suffering from IAD may interpret regular bodily processes such as heartburn, sweating, or bloating as emblems of serious diseases. As opposed to their SSD counterparts who experience real symptoms related to fatigue and pain, people with IAD worry excessively about their well-being. Besides checking their bodies regularly for signs of disease, they will make repeated visits to the doctor. They are usually dissatisfied with the results that they get from their physicians.
Question 2
Individuals suffering from specified SSD and related disorders usually present symptoms such as, excessive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that compromise the realization of normal activities. Typically, they have multiple, current, and somatic symptoms that disrupt daily life (Nana, Yaoyin, Jing, & Leonhart, 2017). Sometimes, severe symptoms associated with pain may be present. It is critical to note that these symptoms often represent normal bodily sensations.

At times, they may designate discomfort that does not mainly indicate serious illness. Physicians also assess for the level of worry during the diagnosis of specified somatic symptoms. Individuals with this condition have incredibly high levels of anxiety regarding sickness and often appraise bodily processes as unduly harmful (Nana et al., 2017). Contrarily, unspecified somatic symptoms and related conditions cause noteworthy distress. Diagnosis of such conditions usually focuses on the accomplishment of regular tasks and impairments in other areas of functioning that fail to meet the full criteria for disorders in the specified somatic and related illnesses class. This category is only utilized in the case of categorically strange situations characterized by insufficient information for more specific diagnosis.
Question 3
Counseling clients with SSD is usually challenging for therapists and physicians as patients generally uphold a passionate attachment to the sense that they have certain illnesses. Whereas therapists typically comfort clients with simple reassurances when handling other emotional conditions, patients with SSD require more than modest assurances. They tend to experience extremely high levels of social dysfunction and anxiety. Physicians often feel frustrated when these individuals refuse to understand things from their perspective. For instance, when counsellors highlight social dysfunction related to missed days from work as symptoms of SSD and related conditions, clients tend to disagree with their suggestions. In other cases, clients may be unaware of or might not want to open up about the real reasons for their issues. Such problems make it difficult for therapists to get to the deep-seated problems affecting clients when resolving symptoms of SSD disorders such as PTSD.
Question 4
Conversion disorders usually occur as bodily response to various traumas. The traumas can be psychological, mental, or physical. The clinical symptoms of this disorder vary between individuals depending on the specific type of neuralgic condition. Some of the common symptoms associated with this condition include loss of balance seizures, shakes, tremors, poor vision, weakness, numbness, and episodes of unresponsiveness (Brown & Lewis-Fernández, 2011). They may be severe, continuous, or mild. Notwithstanding their magnitude, they often affect the ability of the body to function suitably. Physicians utilize the most recent DSM-5 definitions as the diagnostic criteria for the conversion disorder (Brown & Lewis-Fernández, 2011). Specifically, they assess for symptoms linked to interruption of everyday activities and loss of sensory capabilities. They also diagnose patients based on symptoms that lack underlying physical or medical causes.

References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). Arlington: American Psychiatric Pub.
Brown, R. J., & Lewis-Fernández, R. (2011). Culture and Conversion Disorder: Implications for DSM-5. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 74(3), 187-206. 
Nana, X., Yaoyin, Z., Jing, W., Leonhart, R., Fritzsche, K., Mewes, R., & … Schaefert, R. (2017). Operationalization of diagnostic criteria of DSM-5 somatic symptom disorders. BMC Psychiatry, 171-10.