A counsellor at a district hospital in Pune meets two new clients in one week. Ravi, 34, says that while riding his scooter one morning, his heart suddenly began to pound, he sweated heavily, could not catch his breath and felt sure he would die. Such spells have struck him without warning several times since, and he now dreads riding the scooter. Meena, 41, has had stomach aches and back pain for over a year. Tests at four clinics found nothing serious. She does not fear any hidden disease; what upsets her are the aches themselves, which she describes at length, and every few weeks she books yet another doctor's visit. Her housework and sleep have suffered.
Which of the following disorders does Meena's condition best show?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Somatic symptom disorder
Option (1) Illness anxiety disorder — Incorrect. Illness anxiety disorder is a constant worry about developing a serious illness. Meena does not fear any hidden disease, so anxiety about illness is not her main concern.
Option (2) Conversion disorder — Incorrect. Conversion disorder is the reported loss of some basic body function, such as paralysis, blindness or deafness, often after stress. Meena has aches and pain.
Option (3) Obsessive-compulsive disorder — Incorrect. Obsessive-compulsive disorder means unwanted thoughts that will not stop, or acts repeated over and over, such as washing or checking. Meena's problem is body pain.
Option (4) Somatic symptom disorder — Correct. Somatic symptom disorder means lasting body-related symptoms, with or without a serious medical cause. Meena's aches have lasted over a year with no illness found, she is taken up with the aches themselves, keeps visiting doctors, and her daily life suffers.
Note: Somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder both concern illness. In the first, the concern shows as body complaints; in the second, anxiety about having a disease is the main worry.
NCERT (2026-27): “Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders … “… In general, both somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder are concerned with medical illnesses. But, the difference lies in the way this concern is expressed. In the case of somatic symptom disorder, this expression is in terms of physical complaints while in case of illness anxiety disorder, as the name suggests, it is the anxiety which is the main concern.” |