Conversion disorder usually occurs after a traumatic experience and persists as a form of disability without injury. Patients will display physical symptoms for which there is no known physical cause and which they can’t control.
Conversion disorder, sometimes known under the broader term as a functional neurologic disorder, is a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other neurological symptoms that can’t be explained by a neurological disease or medical assessment.
The patient’s symptoms will vary depending on the type of functional neurologic disorder and may encompass distinct patterns. Frequently conversion disorder will affect a person’s movement or senses, most often it’s the ability to see, hear, or walk.
These symptoms often come on very abruptly and will appear as though they’re problems with your nervous system.
There is no way to test for a conversion disorder. Instead your doctor will start by eliminating other possible physical, neurological, or mental causes for your symptoms. According to the APA (American Psychiatric Association) the following symptoms are standard in order to be diagnosed as having conversion disorder:
Without treatment, the underlying stressful event that originally triggered the conversion disorder can continue to cause problems. If the disorder is caused by a chronic disorder, like depression, then the depression must be treated in order to stop the conversion disorder episodes from recurring.
We specialize in providing an extremely thorough diagnostic and treatment process, to ensure that patients are actually treated for the psychological struggles that are creating symptoms.
