The tendency for somatization | Breast Pain Blog

Additive psychiatric diagnoses (such as depression)

According to the concept of "disability pain" somatoform pain syndrome is characterized by a pattern of less typical symptoms, but with a certain experience of physical processing operations ("suffering") and the unfavorable behavior stakeholders disease ("abnormal illness behavior").

Three types of psychological factors in the initiation and maintenance of pain is very important: (a) katastrophisierendes think, (b) anxiety-related pain and fear of pain, (c) a feeling of helplessness. Chronically ill patients learn to cope with using pain cope with their pain, as well as those who accept their pain and not constantly fight it, less affected, depression and anxiety.

Pain disorders often occur in conjunction with other mental disorders (depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders). After cross-country WHO study of pain in primary care practice, 34% of patients experiencing pain depression or anxiety disorders. In a psychiatric hospital patient's pain may occur more frequently (to the level of 87% of inpatients).

Pain is often the only symptom of depression or at least presented as the main symptom. Chronic pain is often associated with depression, acute pain, but not with anxiety disorders. Sleep problems usually arise in a decrease in the period and phase 3 and 4 (sleep) REM, that is, the most important stages and most restful sleep.

Proven by many studies are frequently comorbid depression and pain showed that both countries suffer often not for causal models can be explained, but is caused by a third general, psychosocial stress is large in partnership, family, work, and community. Biological factors, such as the serotonergic system disorders that are relevant not only in depression, but also for the modulation of pain is also significant. Patients also suffer under pain disorders and depression are more affected and seek medical care facilities more often than others that have only one of these two disorders. 60% of patients have experienced trauma pain.

Every second pain patients suffer simultaneously from anxiety disorders. Many patients with somatoform pain disorder have a history of functional complaints, such as gastrointestinal or cardiovascular problems.

What is important is the difference of somatization disorder, where even a different experience pain, but compared with other symptoms are not so persistent and especially as a somatoform pain disorder. Persistent somatoform pain disorder can not be diagnosed in the sense of comorbidity Therefore, if the pain is only in the context of somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder or somatization autonomic dysfunction (eg irritable bowel syndrome) occurs. The same thing applies sick, as often occurs in the context of major depressive episode (F32 and F33), and pain associated with neurasthenia or fatigue syndrome (F48.0), which is also an acute or chronic muscle pain one of six additional symptoms occur could.

According to the Health Survey 1998 8:14% of Germans have a pain disorder in a year and 12.74% in life - women twice as often as men. Consistent results from different studies to conclude that at least one in ten suffers from chronic pain Germany, in which psychological factors and social tend to have at least some influence. At the top is a headache and backache. According to conservative estimates of experts tend to play an important role in the development, initiation and maintenance of pain associated with psychological factors of persistent pain in 40% of patients. Although pain disorder can occur in all age groups, however, are found most often in the decade of the 4th and 5th of life. Pronounced gender difference is not known.