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Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms: Toward an Alternative Paradigm for Diagnosis and Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Christos A. Ballas  and
Jeffrey P. Staab
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Abstract

The treatment of patients with unexplained medical symptoms is difficult because there is neither a clear etiology for the symptoms, nor a useful paradigm with which to understand and treat them. Patients with such symptoms are often referred to psychiatry with vague diagnoses of “somatization” or “hypochondriasis.” Rather than considering somatoform diagnoses based on the number or diversity of physical symptoms, evolving research suggests an emphasis on the type of physical symptom as an indicator of Axis I pathology. This article links specific symptomatic complaints, such as chronic pain, chest pain, and dizziness, to the respective Axis I disorders associated with them, such as depression, panic disorder, and anxiety disorders.

Type
Academic Supplement
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 8 , Issue S3: Anxiety and Depression in the Elderly: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment , December 2003 , pp. 20 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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