Somatic symptom disorder

A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder, is a category of mental disorder included in a number of diagnostic schemes of mental illness, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (latest version DSM-5) used by most mental health professionals in the United States. The diagnosis requires physical symptoms that suggest physical illness or injury – symptoms that cannot be explained fully by a general medical condition or by the direct effect of a substance, and are not attributable to another mental disorder (e.g., panic disorder).