Worth talking to the GP about Somatisation Disorder?

[uk23]

I have had health anxiety for nearly 10 years now and everything just seems to be getting worse. Whilst I am convinced that there is something else going on that they havent found, I am also curious about somatisation disorders.

The areas that I worry about are the digestive system, reproductive system, lungs, nervous system, heart (a bit) and brain (a bit).


People with this disorder have many physical symptoms from different parts of the body. For example, headaches, feeling sick, abdominal pain, bowel problems, period problems, tiredness, sexual problems. The main symptoms may vary at different times. Affected people tend to be emotional about their symptoms. So they may describe their symptoms as 'terrible', 'unbearable', etc, and symptoms can greatly affect day-to-day life. The disorder persists long-term although the symptoms may wax and wane in severity.


Would really appreciate peoples views and opinions on this.

[NoPoet]

Hi,

One of the major symptoms of health anxiety is becoming convinced that there actually is something wrong.

I had to look somatization disorder up. It seems to be a physical manifestation of health anxiety. While the articles I read are careful to say that somatization disorder is NOT simply in a person's mind, the fact remains that anxiety has a variety of bizarre, inexplicable and downright unpleasant symptoms which include all manner of physical discomfort.

There are so many potential explanations for somatization disorder I don't know where to start. My belief at this moment is that somatization disorder is simply a severe form of health anxiety and is a "mind over matter" phenomenon. I've always said that symptoms which are weird or unusual are caused by anxiety.

I believe a person can will themselve to be ill or experience pain. We are in command of our bodies and our bodies respond to mental commands - even when those commands are unconscious. Constantly telling yourself something is wrong for months or years is bound to have some kind of effect. To say it wouldn't seems to deny the strength of human willpower (along with centuries of evidence).

It could also be related to diet, physical activity, posture, stress, allergies... the list incorporates nearly everything, another reason why I don't think somatization disorder is anything other than the extreme of health anxiety.