Somatic Symptom Disorder

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a mental health condition in which a person feels significantly distressed about physical symptoms and has abnormal thoughts, feelings and behaviors in response to them. The disorder disrupts their daily functioning and quality of life.

Although a person with somatic symptom disorder reports symptoms, the symptoms may have no medical explanation or be normal body sensations or discomfort. Even when there’s a medical cause, the person’s worry is out of proportion to the symptom.

People with somatic symptom disorder are often unaware of their underlying mental health condition and believe that they have serious physical ailments. The distress often causes them to visit multiple healthcare providers and to have many medical tests and unnecessary procedures.

What’s the difference between somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder?

Illness anxiety disorder is a mental health condition in which a person is preoccupied and excessively worried about having an illness or getting an illness. Unlike somatic symptom disorder, a person with illness anxiety disorder usually doesn’t experience physical symptoms.

What’s the difference between conversion disorder and somatic symptom disorder?

Conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder) is a condition involving the function of your nervous system with no evidence of physical or neurological causes. This can cause symptoms that affect your perception, sensation or mobility.

While people with conversion disorder frequently experience depression or anxiety, excessive worrying and distress about the physical symptoms aren’t part of the diagnosis for conversion disorder. In contrast, excessive concern about physical symptoms is the main part of the diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder.

Who does somatic symptom disorder affect?

Somatic symptom disorder can occur in children, adolescents and adults, and it usually begins by age 30.

People assigned female at birth (AFAB) are 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with somatic symptom disorder than people assigned male at birth (AMAB).

How common is somatic symptom disorder?

Somatic symptom disorder is somewhat common and occurs in about 5% to 7% of the adult population.