In one week, a psychologist at a district hospital in Pune meets four new clients. Ramesh, 34, cannot recall the weeks after a flood that washed away his house, though he remembers the rest of his life well. Geeta, 19, says she often feels as if she is in a dream, cut off from herself, and the world around her looks unreal. Prakash, 45, keeps complaining of stomach pain and headaches, but his tests show either nothing or only a minor problem. Anjali, 28, has no illness, yet she worries all the time that she may soon develop cancer.
Prakash's condition is best identified as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Somatic symptom disorder
Option (1) Somatic symptom disorder — Correct. In somatic symptom disorder the person has body-related symptoms with no medical condition, or with one far less serious than the symptoms. Prakash's pains and test results fit this.
Option (2) Illness anxiety disorder — Incorrect. Illness anxiety disorder is worry about developing a serious medical condition. Prakash complains of pains he already feels.
Option (3) Conversion disorder — Incorrect. Conversion disorder is a loss or impairment of motor or sensory function, such as paralysis or blindness. Prakash has pains but no lost function.
Option (4) Panic disorder — Incorrect. Panic disorder brings frequent, unpredictable attacks of intense terror with breathlessness and palpitations. Prakash reports steady pains.
NCERT (2026-27): “Dissociative Disorders … |