What is SUBMISSION in psychology

To this day, surely most of us have heard that our body and our mind are intimately connected. It is quite true that, when we experience a very strong emotion, we can notice different changes in our body, such as general discomfort, rapid heart rate, dejection, etc. It is for this reason that many mental health professionals such as psychiatrists or psychologists, although it seems paradoxical, increasingly assume that There are different psychological disorders whose observable symptoms turn out to be physical, but the origin of these is mainly psychological. We are talking about a phenomenon called somatization, which affects more women than men in our society and what, if is not treated properly, it can lead to a psychological disorder: somatization or symptom disorder somatic. In this Psychology-Online article we will show you what is somatization in psychology, its most frequent manifestations, its causes and its treatment.

Index

1. Somatization disorder DSM-5
2. Causes of somatization
3. Most common types of somatization with examples
4. How to cure somatization

Somatization disorder according to DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is classified as somatic symptom disorder and related disorders, which is characterized mainly by the presence of frequent physical symptoms that cause pain and discomfort, and can sometimes be identifiable or not by healthcare personnel and often accompanied by thoughts, feelings and excessive concern regarding the health of the patient. patient.

The main characteristics of somatic symptom disorder could be suffering from pain, shortness of breath, physical weakness, tiredness and they can vary in intensity and manifestation. Pain is the most common symptom normally and this can be associated with thoughts and behaviors such as the following:

• Excessive concern about the possibility of suffering from one or more diseases.
• Associate physical symptoms as signs of serious illness.
• Difficulty obtaining a clear medical diagnosis due to lack of evidence and evidence.
• Constant review of the body looking for anomalies.
• Perception of symptoms more intense than even suffering from a medical illness.

The fact that these symptoms, normally, do not have an organic origin, causes that patients frequent different health care services in order to find a diagnosis and treatment definitive. As a consequence, when somatizing and its causes are not identified, different associated psychopathologies like anxiety, stress, and depression.

Somatic disease or somatization disorder usually begins in early adulthood, around the age of 30, and its prevalence in the general population is around 5 to 7%.

What are the etiological mechanisms of somatization disorder? Currently, there is no concrete and defined cause to explain why this phenomenon appears, but we can conclude that there are different risk factors that we show below, which generate a vulnerability for suffer it:

• Biological factors such as being more sensitive to pain.
• Genetic factors.
• Family background.
• Personal factors, such as a less perception to identify and process emotions and have some features of the most anxious personality.
• Victims of sexual or physical abuse.

It should be noted that, in some cases, somatization appears due to the existence of another previous medical pathology such as cancer or heart disease, among others.

There are different types of somatization disorder included within the DSM-5:

• Somatic symptom disorder.
• Anxiety disorder due to illness or hypochondria.
• Conversion disorder.
• Disorder with psychological factors influencing other medical conditions.
• Factitious disorder.

Physical pain, as mentioned above, is the most common ailment in people with this disorder and the human body systems that are most affected tend to be the digestive, locomotor, sexual and dermal. Below we show you a classification of the types of somatization most common. The most frequent symptoms are:

• Headaches (headache).
• Back pain and joint pain.
• Chest pain.
• Heartburn, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Menstrual pain.
• Sexuality disorders such as pain during sexual intercourse or erectile dysfunction.

How to stop somatizing? This disorder can be treated from the cognitive-behavioral psychology approach, since this current takes into account and is responsible for working with the behavioral, behavioral aspects, thoughts and other psychological aspects that may be impairing the normal functioning of the patient. This treatment can help to relieve symptoms, pain, to become aware of the existence of this problem, to handle negative thoughts recurring, namely manage stress and to have a better well-being and quality of life. In the following articles we explain how to manage stress Y what to do with recurring negative thoughts.

Also, if the patient suffers from other psychological disorders such as depression or anxiety, find a professional specializing in this stream could be of great help.

The Pharmacotherapy Using antidepressant and / or anxiolytic drugs is also recommended in these cases to alleviate the symptoms of depression or anxiety. A combination of this treatment together with the psychological one would be the most recommended by specialists.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is somatization in psychology, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• American Psychiatric Association (2013). Somatic symptom disorder. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders. 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 311-315.
• Muñoz, H. (2009). Somatization: diagnostic considerations. Med Magazine, 17(1), 55-64.
• Santiago, J.L. and Belloch, A. (2002). Somatization as a symptom and as a syndrome: a review of somatization disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Psychology, 7(2), 73-93.