‘Pseudoneurological’ symptoms, dissociation and stress-related psychopathology in healthy young adults

Abstract

BackgroundSomatoform dissociation is a specific form of dissociation with somatic manifestations represented in the form of ‘pseudoneurological’ symptoms due to disturbances or alterations of normal integrated functions of consciousness, memory or identity mainly related to trauma and other psychological stressors. With respect to the distinction between psychological and somatoform manifestations of dissociation current data suggest a hypothesis to which extent mild manifestations of ‘pseudoneurological’ symptoms in healthy young population may be linked to stress-related psychopathological symptoms or whether these symptoms more likely could be attributed to unexplained somatic factors.MethodsWith this aim we have assessed the relationship between somatoform dissociation and stress-related psychopathology (i.e. anxiety, depression, symptoms of traumatic stress, alexithymia) in a group of 250 healthy non-psychiatric and non-clinical young adults.ResultsResults of this study show that the symptoms of somatoform dissociation are significantly linked to stress-related psychopathology.ConclusionsFindings of this study show that the ‘pseudoneurological’ symptoms may be linked to stress-related psychopathological processes which indicate that also mild levels of stress may influence somatic feelings and may lead to various somatoform dissociative symptoms.

Cohort Profile: The European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC) in the Czech Republic

“…It was found that even mild levels of distress may influence somatic equivalents and lead to symptoms similar to cognitive and affective disturbances 25 or to somatoform dissociative symptoms. 26 Clinically significant manifestations of dissociative symptoms were also found in young adult men whose mothers were single and in women whose mothers were re-married. 27 The results suggest that dissociative symptoms in young men in fatherless families are linked with conflicting attachment to a father and pathological dependency on mothers, whereas in women, dissociative symptoms appear to be linked to presence of a stepfather in the family.…”

The Mediating Role of Alexithymia in the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Postdeployment Mental Health in Canadian Armed Forces Personnel

“…Alternatively, previous findings have shown a strong association between alexithymia and dissociation (Bob, Selesova, Raboch, & Kukla, 2013;Grabe, Rainermann, Spitzer, Gänsicke, & Freyberger, 2000) and between alexithymia and numbing of affect (Declercq et al, 2010). Given that detachment from emotional experiences is one of the characteristics of dissociation and emotional numbing may result from difficulty in describing emotions, it could be that individuals with more difficultly describing feelings reported fewer depressive and PTSD symptoms because they were more detached, numb, and, possibly, unaware of their new emotional experiences following their exposure to combat.…”

Psychoform and somatoform dissociation among children and adolescents: An evaluation of a new short screening instrument for dissociation, DSQ-12

“…An ulterior affective, cognitive or neuropsychiatric disorder can cause a child to be extra sensitive in a potentially traumatic environment and thereby develop a dissociative comorbidity (Bob et al, 2013;Comasco et. al, 2015).…”