Trey Trainum
Ab Psych TuTh 12:30
Conversion Disorder
1. An adolescent girl is emitted into the hospital after weeks of losing the ability to speak coherently, and often went into seizures. Doctors did tests on her brain, and found no causes to her symptoms. They even suspected that she might be faking. After further investigation, it was soon discovered that the girl, years ago, was the victim of a violent rape, and has since then struggled with the emotional leftovers of the ordeal. She was diagnosed with conversion disorder and entered therapy.
2. This would be a classic case of Conversion disorder, and in this presentation I will try to explain the following:
1. What is Conversion disorder?
2. What are the symptoms?
3. How is it diagnosed?
4. What are the causes?
5. How do you treat it?
3. I will then lastly give you two case studies, originally published online by the Journalism Of The Royal Society of Medicine that outline the disorder for you, and a video example from the miniseries “Band of Brothers” to give you a better visual example.
1. Conversion order is a type of Somatoform disorder, in which psychological stress or underlying emotional issues manifests itself as a physical problem, namely the disappearance of the senses (such as deafness, blindness, mutism), or unable control motor capabilities (such as numbness or limpness in limbs, or paralysis)
2. Simply put, conversion disorder is a condition in which you show psychological stress in physical ways
3. These physical incapacity issues cannot be explained medically, and have no apparent cause. A doctor cannot diagnose a patient with conversion disorder because the symptoms have no apparent medical cause.
1. In order to be have conversion disorder, you must have either:
1. Loss of the senses
1. Blindness
2. Deafness
3. Mutism
4. Numbness
5. Loss of taste
6. Double vision
2. Inability to use motor function
1. Full paralysis
2. Numbness of limbs or body parts, lack of sensation
3. Loss of control of arms, fingers, legs, or any limbs.
4. Seizures
5. Comatose state
3. NOTE: Diagnostics will not, and cannot find any physical causation for these symptoms.
1. The DSM-IV is very specific for diagnosing a patient with conversion disorder. A patient must meet all of the following criteria in order to be positively diagnosed.
1. Patient has one or more symptoms or deficits affecting the senses or voluntary movement that suggest a neurological or general medical disorder.
2. The onset or worsening of the symptoms was preceded by conflicts or stressors in the patient's life.
3. The symptom is not faked or produced intentionally.
4. The symptom cannot be fully explained as a result of a general medical disorder, substance intake, or a behavior related to patient's culture.
5. The symptom is severe enough to interfere with the patient's schooling, employment, or social relationships, or is serious enough to require medical evaluation.
6. The symptom is not limited to pain, or sexual dysfunction, does not occur only in the context of somatization disorder and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder.
1. The cause of conversion disorder is purely psychological, while the symptoms are purely physical.
2. Extreme stress or deep underlying psychological issues.
3. Past abuse or traumatic experiences most often are the primary cause for symptoms to appear.
4. Symptoms can appear years after the initial abuse, experience, or underlying psychological issue began.
1. The most common and effective treatment for conversion disorder is psychotherapy. You must treat the underlying issues, (i.e. the trauma, anxiety, coping issues) before symptoms can be expected to wane.
2. There are no medications specifically for conversion disorder, but medications such as SSRIs may be prescribed to help treat anxiety or depression that helps propel the conversion disorder symptoms.
3. Hypnosis is occasionally used along side with regular psychotherapy to help draw out deep rooted issues that could then be addressed in therapy sessions.
4. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (or TMS) has shown positive results in some conversion disorder cases. TMS is a non-evasive way to excite brain activity by exposing the neurons in the brain tissue to weak electromagnetic currents.
VII. Examples
1. In the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers, the show follows a company of soldiers through the duration of WWII while they fight on the front lines of the United States invasion of Western Europe. One soldier in particular, a Private Blithe, shows early signs of emotional distress, and crippling anxiety. Although his background is not explained, it is obvious that his mental state is not as stable as his fellow soldiers who have experienced the same hardships he has. Quiet, reserved, and in a constant state of anxiety, he never truly serves as a soldier, unable to preform simple duties. During a firefight, he unexpectedly and unexplainable looses his sense of sight. He is not shot, injured, and no other physical explanations are attributed to his sudden loss of sight.