In the previous post, we explored how physical (somatic) symptoms can lead some individuals to experience psychological and/or behavioral distress. In this post, I’ll describe Somatic Symptom Disorder as well as two related disorders, using my own words.
After discussing Dissociative Disorders, the diagnostic manual takes a new direction. It moves to a category of disorders known as somatic disorders.
The word "somatic" is related to the Greek word soma, which means "body." Somatic symptoms are physical symptoms. But why should clinical psychology be concerned with physical symptoms? Let me explain in my own words.
