Disturbing implications

Diagnostic creep

The SSD Work Group is proposing to rename the Somatoform Disorders section of DSM-IV to “Somatic Symptom Disorders,” eliminate four existing  DSM-IV categories: somatization disorder, hypochondriasis, pain disorder, and undifferentiated somatoform disorder and replace them with a single new category – “Somatic Symptom Disorder.”

If approved, these proposals will license the application of a mental health diagnosis for all illnesses – whether “established general medical conditions or disorders” like diabetes, heart disease and cancer or conditions presenting with “somatic symptoms of unclear etiology” – if the clinician considers that the patient’s life has become “subsumed” with health concerns and preoccupations, or their response to distressing somatic symptoms is “excessive” or “disproportionate” or their coping strategies “maladaptive.”

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