This is an essay for abnormal psychology, it needs to be professional (which i do not do well, yet). I need some help with my punctuation and flow. Please be harsh (I do better with tough critisism) Thanks!
Faker?
Is it possible to feel physical pain from a psychological disorder with no traceable cause? In the 1980's the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) introduced a category of psychological disorders that included symptoms of physical pain without a reason. In many cases these people are accused of "faking" or trying to get attention by acting out. Sufferers of Somatization disorder (SD) are not faking their symptoms; in fact their physical pain is real. SD is only one of six Somatoform disorders known today (Oyama, Paltoo and Greengold, 2007).
Well done!
noticeable sign of a Somatoform disorder.
Here is a place where you did not capitalize Disorder.
Your APA looks good, except right here you should have a page number referenced if possible:
American Family Physician (date) explains "In somatoform disorders, there are no obvious gains or incentives for the patient, and the physical symptoms are not willfully adopted or feigned; rather, anxiety and fear facilitate the initiation, exacerbation, and maintenance of these disorders"(p. 11).
The structure of this is very good.
Is it possible to feel physical pain from a psychological disorder with no traceable cause? In the 1980's the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) introduced a category of psychological disorders that included symptoms of physical pain without a reason. Sufferers of Somatization disorder (SD) are not faking their symptoms; in fact their physical pain is real. During the nineties SD was referred to as Briquet's syndrome or simply as hysteria. Neither of these terms is used anymore (Mai, 2004). [Currently, ...per cent of North Americans are diagnosed with a form of SD (cite, date)]
SD is one of six Somatoform disorders known today (Oyama, Paltoo & Greengold, 2007). [You state 6 here but I count 7] This chronic disorder is not preventable, detectable, or curable, but is manageable with help [specifically what kind, e.g., combination of pharmaceutical and cognitive...?] Each of the Somatoform disorders shares a common trait; relative absence of a physical cause and an identifiable psychological cause (Mai, 2004). In many cases persons diagnosed with a Somatoform disorder are accused of "faking" and are seen as attention seeking through acting out. The 6 types of Somatoform diagnoses include:
1. Somatization disorder (multisystem physical symptoms)
2. Undifferentiated somatoform disorder (fewer symptoms than SD)
3. Conversion disorder (voluntary motor or sensory function symptoms)
4. Pain disorder (pain with strong psychological involvement)
5. Hypochondriasis
6. Body dysmorphic disorder (preoccupation with a real or imagined physical
defect)
7. Somatoform disorder not otherwise specified (used when criteria are not
clearly met in other types; American Family Physician, [date]; Oyama, Paltoo
and Greengold, 2007).
Signs and symptoms of Somatization disorder vary from case to case and even within a person across time and settings [?when]. Suffers of the disorder will have numerous unexplained physical symptoms over many years; this would be a noticeable sign to indicate possible Somatoform disorder. Predominant symptoms are headaches and joint pain, though these tend to occur with one or more secondary symptoms, such as chest pain, abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and painful urination (Kelly, 1995).
The disorder normally affects females under the age of 30 with a family history of the disorder or a form of panic disorder. It is diagnosed more frequently in women with a first line family member who suffers from a Somatoform disorder. Since there is no test for SD, physicians have to go by a patient's medical and family history and pay attention to possible symptoms. [These are a given for a doctor, would the doc be taking note of psychological functioning as well?] In order to be diagnosed with Somatization disorder a patient must have at least two gastrointestinal complaints, four pain symptoms, one pseudo-neurologic problem, and one sexual symptom (Oyama, Paltoo and Greengold, 2007).
SD is often confused with factitious disorder and malingering [are these in the DSM? (cite, date)], the difference being that SD does not have anything to do with internal or external gain. American Family Physician (p. ) explains,
In somatoform disorders, there are no obvious gains or
incentives for the patient, and the physical symptoms are
not willfully adopted or feigned; rather, anxiety and fear
facilitate the initiation, exacerbation, and maintenance of these
disorders.
Like many psychological disorders, SD is not as excepted or believed as it should be [by who? Who says?]Somatoform diagnosis remains controversial, there is a lack of clearly defined thresholds [of what?]; use of unreliable subcategories [in the DSM? Informal categories used by doctors?], universal diagnosis is not applicable; exclusion of medical criteria [what does this mean? What is excluded? Who is excluding it? Why are they when above you say that it is what doctors use for diagnosis?], and unacceptable terminology [like what? Why unacceptable? Who is using it? How is this issue different from unreliable subcategories?](Mayou, Kirmayer & Simon, 2005). Thus, this serious disorder is generating much research interest [because you have said that there are numerous conflicting issues] to explain "fake" symptoms.
