Somatisation

Unexplained symptoms are known as somatisation. You can have many different symptoms in all parts of your body, including:

Muscular pain
Aching joints
Sensory disturbances
Less strength in your muscles
Difficulty walking
Memory problems
Visual disturbances
Hearing problems
Speech difficulties
Dizziness
Tiredness
Feeling hot and cold
Heart symptoms
Difficulty breathing
Nausea
Stomach aches
Digestion problems
Problems urinating
Abdominal pain

In most cases you will calm down and feel better once your doctor has examined you and explained that you are not suffering from a serious illness. However, some people continue to suffer from symptoms even though they have been examined many times.

In some cases somatisation can be a protracted chronic illness that makes it difficult to go to work and do things during your free time. If you have persistent unexplained physical symptoms, you may have a somatoform disorder and should seek treatment.

As with other illnesses, the continuation of your hypochondria and somatisation could lead to depression and anxiety.

What are dissociative and somatoform disorders?

As is the case with depression and anxiety disorders, there are a number of diagnoses for hypochondria and somatisation. These are divided into:

Somatoform disorders: Pain/symptoms in the heart, stomach and elsewhere in the body. If you have been thoroughly examined and your doctor has not been able to find a physical explanation for your symptoms, you may have a somatoform disorder.
Dissociative disorders: Symptoms that relate to your memory, cramps, paralysis, sensory disturbances and other disruptions to your senses. If you have been thoroughly examined and your doctor has been unable to find a physical reason for your symptoms, you may have a dissociative disorder.
Other nervous disorders - these are diagnoses for unexplained tiredness and repeated incidences of depersonalisation, i.e. "feeling outside of yourself and disconnected from other people."

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