A somatic symptom disorder occurs when a person pays too much attention to physical symptoms like pain, weakness, or shortness of breath, causing serious suffering and functional issues (Henningsen, 2018). Excessive thoughts, sentiments, and actions are linked to physical symptoms in this individual. This became the case with one of my acquaintances when the discomfort in his stomach, which he had been suffering from, began to worsen. He noted that the discomfort in his belly came and went, was distributed throughout the abdomen, and was not really always related to anything.
The disease affected his life seriously due to his attempts to find out the causes of the pain and constant panic attacks. In terms of the self-care aspect, he attempted to alter his diet by eliminating dairy products and even meat, but nothing worked. He also gave up caffeine and alcohol, and the discomfort only appeared to become worse and more frequent. The situation also affected his social life since his relations with his friends worsened as he frequently canceled plans because he was frightened of another “attack.” It also caused problems with his job, since sometimes he missed his shifts or left them earlier due to pains.
If everything is good after a comprehensive physical examination and complete medical history, counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy sessions should be conducted. Since there is a greater risk of acquiring depression in this setting, antidepressants may be beneficial (Henningsen, 2018). Physiological treatment should mostly consist of rigorous and regular counseling, as well as beginning to work on learning how to cope with the pain. In general, he stated that the discomfort was lessening after many months of therapy.
Reference
Henningsen, P. (2018). Management of somatic symptom disorder. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 20(1), 23.