Somatic Disorders

What are they?

Somatic disorders are also referred to as somatoform disorders and are grouped together in five categories which are indicative of their general presenting features:

  • Somatisation Disorder
  • Conversion Disorder
  • Pain Disorder
  • Hypochondriasis
  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder


All of these categories have one presenting feature in common, their initial presentation is that of external symptoms. These symptoms are of physical complaints that initially appear to be medical in origin but upon investigation cannot be explained with a medical diagnosis.

Each category has the overarching commonality of interfering with normal activities of daily living e.g. employment, attending school, relationships.

The physical symptoms that are experienced by the sufferer are not under the person’s conscious control.

The most common somatoform disorder seen in children and young people is that of conversion disorder. This is a condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic) symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation, although body dysmorphic disorder can also be seen in this age group.

This conversion reaction often reflects that the young person is experiencing stress in some area of their life.

Some common presentations of somatic disorders can be: faints, pseudo-seizures and paralysis of limbs.

These are complex disorders to understand and it is important that physical symptoms are investigated fully before consideration that they may be somatic in origin.

It is also important to remember that the person experiencing the symptoms genuinely does beleive what they are presenting with and they are not pretending or “attention seeking” (attention seeking is often a term that is used in a negative context and is unhelpful in understanding what is being communicated by the child/young person).

If you are concerned about a young person and worried that they may be presenting with symptoms that could be indicative of a possible somatic disorder you may consider talking to the parents and/or seeking advice from Rise (the mental health service for children and young people) as well as their GP.