Functional Disorders

Question 1

Somatisation Disorder

Answer 1

• Multiple physical symptoms present for at least 2 years
• Pt refuses to accept reassurance or negative test results

Question 2

Illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis)

Answer 2

• Persistent belief in the presence of an underlying serious disease eg. cancer
• Pt again refuses to accept reassurance or negative test results

Question 3

Conversion disorder

Answer 3

• Typically involves loss of motor or sensory function
• Pt doesn’t consciously feign symptoms (factitious disorder) or seek material gain (malingering)
• Pts may be indifferent to their apparent disorder - la belle indifference - although this has not been backed up by some studies

Question 4

Dissociative disorder

Answer 4

• Dissociation is a process of ‘separating off’ certain memories from normal consciousness
• In contrast to conversion disorder, involves psychiatric symptoms eg. amnesia, fugue, stupor
• Dissociative identitiy disorder (DID) is the new term for multiple personality disorder as it’s the most severe form of dissociative disorder

Question 5

Factitious disorder

Answer 5

• AKA Munchausen’s syndrome
• Intentional production of physical or psychological symptoms

Question 6

Malingering

Answer 6

Fraudulent stimulation or exaggeration of symptoms with intention of financial or other gain