What is conversion disorder?
Have you ever heard of conversion disorder? Neither do I, but for people who suffer from it, the symptoms can be very confusing and debilitating.
Conversion disorder, also known as functional neurotic symptom disorder, is a condition in which psychological stresses and fears, in other words, psychological factors, turn into physical symptoms.
Dr. John Mayer describes conversion disorder as “a physical manifestation of a mental illness.”
The disorder usually begins with a mental problem or stressful event that then turns into a physical problem. These physical symptoms are similar to neurological disorders and therefore have a special effect on the muscles and senses.
Dr. Jared Heathman explains this disorder further:
“Conversion disorder is a psychological condition that is diagnosed when weak neurological symptoms are present without a medical or cultural explanation.”
It is probably easier to explain this by giving some examples:
Imagine if you were in a car accident and afterward, you were physically unable to move your legs, even though they were not damaged by the accident.
You saw someone choking on a piece of food and then suddenly found that you couldn’t swallow.
How can conversion disorder affect you?
Conversion disorder can affect the way we walk, hear, see, move, or swallow — anything that involves using the neural pathways in our brain that drive muscle movement. Once symptoms start, they become uncontrollable and the person begins to feel more anxious about the situation.
Conversion disorder can affect all ages, from young children to the elderly. It is best treated in younger children and those who receive prompt advice tend to have brighter results. Symptoms can vary and come and go, or be continuous.
It is important to note that a person suffering from this disorder is not faking his symptoms, nor is he likely to exaggerate them.
It is true to say that conversion disorder can be incredibly variable in diagnosis, and those affected may have to seek medical advice from several sources before getting the correct diagnosis and specialized help they need. The absolute truth is that this is a real disorder and people who suffer from it should be taken seriously.
As Dr. Jay Salpekar, director of the Neurobehavioral Program at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, said:
“The bottom line is that this stress somehow turns into physical symptoms. Everyone has their own breaking point.
As for the causes of conversion disorder, we are not yet close to discovering it. Many theories have been debated. One is that the brain tries to resolve the internal psychological conflict that a person feels by physically replicating these feelings.
We have listed ten signs of conversion disorder below:
Sudden blindness
Paralysis of the limbs of the body.
Numbness in the body.
Uncontrollable body movements.
Sudden deafness.
You have weakness in the body.
You lose your sense of balance or find it difficult to walk.
It cannot be swallowed easily.
Starting to have convulsions or seizures.
Inability to speak or problems with speech.
How to treat conversion disorder
It is accepted practice that the best way to treat a person with conversion disorder is to focus on the underlying mental problem first. This could be by prescribing anti-anxiety medications or therapy to access the psychological factors that cause the direct triggers of stress.
Once psychological issues have been targeted, physical symptoms can then be treated using techniques such as physical therapy, hypnosis or even brain stimulation with magnets.
