Somatic Symptom Disorder and Related Disorders in Adolescents

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and related disorders focus on psychiatric factors and physical symptoms that do not require a medical diagnosis and yet come to preoccupy an individual to the extent that they impact the individual’s quality of life and functioning. Adolescents, like other people who experience SSD, may misinterpret somatic symptoms as signs of serious illness, and their intense reactions may impair day-to-day functioning. This entry addresses symptoms, treatment options, and the impact somatic symptom disorder in adolescents has on schoolwork, other activities, and relationships.

Somatic Symptom Disorder

With somatic symptom disorder, individuals are excessively preoccupied with one or more real physical symptoms that persist for a minimum of 6 months and are overwhelmed with distressing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are maladaptive and disproportionate to ...

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