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disorder, trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder are overly concerned about disorder), excoriation (skin-picking) undiagnosed disease, negative diagnostic disorder etc. results, do not respond to assurance by doctors, and are easily alarmed about Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders illness such as on hearing about someone Very often people who have been else's ill-health or some such news. caught in a natural disaster (such as In general, both somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder are tsunami) or have been victims of bomb blasts by terrorists, or been in a serious concerned with medical illnesses. But, accident or in a war-related situation, the difference lies in the way this concern experience post-traumatic stress is expressed. In the case of somatic disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms vary symptom disorder, this expression is in widely but may include recurrent dreams, terms of physical complaints while in flashbacks, impaired concentration, and case of illness anxiety disorder, as the emotional numbing. Adjustment name suggests, it is the anxiety which Disorders and Acute Stress Disorder are is the main concern. also included under this category. The symptoms of conversion disorders are the reported loss of part Somatic Symptom and Related or all of some basic body functions. Disorders Paralysis, blindness, deafness and difficulty in walking are generally among These are conditions in which there are physical symptoms in the absence of a the symptoms reported. These symptoms physical disease. In these disorders, the often occur after a stressful experience and may be quite sudden. individual has psychological difficulties and complains of physical symptoms, for which there is no biological cause. These Dissociative Disorders include conversion disorders, somatic Dissociation can be viewed as severance symptom disorder, and illness anxiety of the connections between ideas and disorder among others. emotions. Dissociation involves feelings of Somatic symptom disorder involves unreality, estrangement, depersonalisation, a person having persistent body-related and sometimes a loss or shift of identity. symptoms which may or may not be Sudden temporary alterations of related to any serious medical condition. consciousness that blot out painful People with this disorder tend to be overly experiences are a defining characteristic preoccupied with their symptoms and they of dissociative disorders. Conditions continually worry about their health and included in this are Dissociative Amnesia, make frequent visits to doctors. As a Dissociative Identity Disorder, and result, they experience significant distressDepersonalisation/Derealisation Disorder. and disturbances in their daily life. Salient features of somatic symptom and Illness anxiety disorder involves related disorders and dissociative disorders persistent preoccupation about developing are given in Box 4.1. a serious illness and constantly worrying Dissociative amnesia is characterised about this possibility. This is by extensive but selective memory loss that accompanied by anxiety about one’s has no known organic cause (e.g., head health. Individuals with illness anxiety injury). Some people cannot remember 78 Psychology Reprint 2026-27