The Reality of Conversion Disorder

Stress is widely defined as a constraining force or influence. Sooner or later, it affects everyone. Most of the time, it’s temporary, but what happens when it’s not? Long term emotional stress can frequently occur with past trauma, producing a series of real and sometimes dangerous medical consequences. Often times a patient who is suffering from severe pain and does not receive a medical diagnosis, fears that a doctor may label the situation as “Just stress”. But when “Just stress” manifests physically, it should be handled with just as much care as any physically produced injury or disease. Conversion disorder (alternatively known as Functional neurological symptom disorder or, in the past: Hysterical neurosis) is a psychiatric condition in which a person develops neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation.  Some of these neurological symptoms can include: Blindness Paralysis Numbness Inability to speak General nervous system malfunctions The history of conversion disorder stems from the Greek physician Hippocrates when he coined the term “hysteria”. This, he described, was a woman’s problem. In the 1600s, hysteric affliction was linked with witchcraft and demonic possession. Later in 1905, Freud and Breuer’s publication, Studies on Hysteria, detailed the “talking cure”. Even today, the most recommended treatment for conversion disorder is talk therapy and/or hypnosis. Someone experiencing conve...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anxiety and Panic Disorders Dissociative Stress Anxious Thoughts Conversion Disorder Dissociation functional neurological symptom disorder Hysteria hysterical blindness stress reduction Source Type: blogs