University Essay: Somatic Symptom Disorder and Schizophrenia Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) and Schizophrenia, addressing key aspects of each condition. It begins by defining SSD and exploring its diagnostic process, including the challenges when a patient has an actual physical illness. The essay then delves into Schizophrenia, detailing the basic criteria according to the DSM-5, and differentiating between positive and negative symptoms. Furthermore, the essay examines the prognosis of Schizophrenia, considering the influence of age and gender on the onset and progression of the disorder. The analysis is supported by relevant research and provides a clear understanding of these complex mental health conditions. This essay is a valuable resource for students studying abnormal psychology, offering detailed insights into the symptoms, diagnosis, and prognosis of SSD and Schizophrenia.

Running head: SOMATIC SYMPTOM DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
SOMATIC SYMPTOM DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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SOMATIC SYMPTOM DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
Somatic Symptom Disorder or SSD is a disorder in which the person suffering from it
feels tremendous apprehension about physical symptoms like pain or fatigue. Those with SSD do
not fake their symptoms and their problems such as pain are real but it might not always be that
severe. This extreme tendency often causes great emotional distress.
The diagnosis for SSD is carried out first by prescribing a complete physical examination
for the patient. After the examination if it is found that the patient has no medical condition, he
or she is then referred to a mental health professional. However, at times when the patient
actually suffers from acute physical illness, it becomes difficult to diagnose whether he or she
has SSD or not. Although there is no evidence of whether persons with acute physical illness
could be diagnosed with SSD, most evidences suggest that it cannot be diagnosed. As per the
American Psychiatry Association (APA), “a person is not diagnosed with SSD solely because a
medical cause cannot be identified for a physical symptom” (Psychiatry.org, 2018). The focus is
given on the degree at which the behaviors and thoughts about the illness go beyond normal.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that appears mostly in the later years of the adolescent
age or early adulthood. As per the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fifth Edition (DSM 5), the basic criteria for schizophrenia include delusions, disorganized
speech, hallucinations, disorganized or catatonic behavior and negative symptoms ("Updates to
DSM-5 Criteria & Text", 2018). A patient cannot be diagnosed with schizophrenia if he or she
does not have any one of these criteria.
The symptoms demonstrated by schizophrenic patients are categorized as positive and
negative symptoms, which often confuses people. However, the two terms have entirely different
meaning in this case. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia imply the features that are

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SOMATIC SYMPTOM DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
supplemented to someone’s state of being. In contrast to it, negative symptoms are those that are
taken away from someone’s state of being. While the positive schizophrenic symptoms produce
alterations and novel ways of experiencing the world, negative symptoms take many things away
like emotions, motivation and so on. Positive symptoms include hallucinations, delusions among
others whereas negative symptoms include absence of emotions, lack of motivation and so on.
It has been found that the prognosis of schizophrenia starts roughly at the age of 15 and
25 (Stepniak et al., 2014). In men, the symptoms are likely to occur earlier than women are with
men developing schizophrenia at an early age of 18 or 25. Women, on the other hand, show
symptoms much later in life, after the age of 30 or 40. In majority of cases, it has also been found
that schizophrenia does not occur after the age of 45 (Donoghue et al., 2014).
The prognosis also seems to change over time and the influence it has on daily activities
and life is most likely to vary. In this case, as well, women are more likely to show improvement
in maintaining the symptoms better than men maintain.

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SOMATIC SYMPTOM DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
References:
Donoghue, K., Doody, G. A., Murray, R. M., Jones, P. B., Morgan, C., Dazzan, P., ... &
MacCabe, J. H. (2014). Cannabis use, gender and age of onset of schizophrenia: data
from the AESOP study. Psychiatry research, 215(3), 528-532.
Psychiatry.org. (2018). What Is Somatic Symptom Disorder?. Retrieved from
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/somatic-symptom-disorder/what-is-somatic-
symptom-disorder
Stepniak, B., Papiol, S., Hammer, C., Ramin, A., Everts, S., Hennig, L., ... & Ehrenreich, H.
(2014). Accumulated environmental risk determining age at schizophrenia onset: a deep
phenotyping-based study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(6), 444-453.
Updates to DSM-5 Criteria & Text. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/updates-to-dsm-5/updates-to-dsm-
5-criteria-text