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I don't hear much about psychosomatic disorders any more. I always kind of thought I had some of this going on but I was too embarrassed to get help. Is this still a real problem?

There's no doubt that the brain, psyche, or conscious and subconsious thoughts and beliefs can affect how the body (soma) feels. More than ever, scientists are finding ways to measure the mind-body connection and even direct treatment toward what have been called psychosomatic complaints. Today, the transfer of mental and emotional stress into physical symptoms is referred to as a somatoform disorder. Muscle, joint, back, and headache pain are the most common symptoms, but other symptoms can include gastrointestinal (nausea, loss of appetite, constipation), neurologic (numbness, tingling, paralysis) and sexual dysfunction. A common feature of somatoform disorders is symptom amplification -- a heightened awareness of symptoms or symptoms blown out of proportion. Somatoform disorders include a number of different problems all placed in this one category. These include somatization disorder, conversion disorder, hypochondriasis, body dysmorphic disorder, and factitious disorder. The lack of any evidence that there's anything physically wrong to explain these disorders has led some experts to suggest dropping somatoform disorders as a real diagnosis. But other experts in the field of psychiatry and psychology recommend taking a closer look at these disorders and finding ways to diagnose them more accurately and specifically. That way, treatment can be directed more toward the individual's needs, rather than applying a generalized management approach that doesn't really benefit the patient. The goals of treatment include reducing emergency department and doctor visits (thereby also reducing costs), improving physical symptoms even if psychologic distress remains unchanged, and/or improving function even if physical symptoms are not relieved.

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