What is Conversion Disorder

All of a sudden you see someone freeze after a fall. This condition is temporary and the person gets well after a few weeks. You may feel the person is faking this sudden physical change. But, once this is established by doctors that the person is truly affected, this condition is termed as a conversion disorder. Hysterical neurosis, as this disorder was formerly known, commonly affects more women than men. Let us understand what is conversion disorder and learn about the causes and symptoms of this rare disease.

Conversion Disorder
Conversion disorder is a psychological condition that is exhibited in physical form. When a person undergoes a stressful event, his/her mental condition is converted into a physical symptom. This means the person may suddenly be affected by paralysis, blindness, deafness, inability to swallow, walk, etc. The conversion disorder symptoms may appear to be very grave. However, within a couple of weeks, the person seems to get better. When one of more voluntary motor or sensor functions are affected, it may point towards conversion disorder. Before a person is diagnosed with conversion disorder, there are a set of conditions a patient needs to fulfill. These conditions are published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders. After through medical test, evaluation, reflection of physical symptoms and impairment of the social and occupational function, a doctor may diagnose the condition of the patient as conversion disorder.

What are Conversion Disorder Causes
It is not very clear as to what can be the possible conversion disorder causes. It is thought that these conversion disorder episodes may be triggered by a very stressful occurrence in the patient's life. These events include an emotional trauma or mental disorder like depression. The region of brain that controls the muscles and sensory organs is said to be affected. When the brain thinks of something as a threat, it suddenly freezes leading to the conversion disorder symptoms.

What are Conversion Disorder Symptoms
Conversion disorder may happen after a very nerve-wracking event that occurs in the patient's life. This condition appears suddenly and the conversion disorder symptoms include some of the following physical signs:

• Paralysis of an arm or leg
• Loss of voice or inability to speak
• Sudden blindness or double vision
• Deafness
• Poor balance or coordination
• Seizures
• Inability to walk
• Convulsions
• Hallucinations
• Loss of sense of touch
• Loss of sense of pain

Conversion Disorder Treatment
The doctor may evaluate a person, before beginning with conversion disorder treatment. He may look for one or more neurological symptoms in the patient. He will confirm that the condition occurred after the person went through a stressful and nerve wrecking event. No other mental illness or mental health mental disorder should be related to the symptoms observed. Above all, the person is not faking these symptoms for whatsoever reason. The doctor may also rule out myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease as the reason behind the symptoms observed.

Once it is confirmed that the patient is exhibiting conversion disorder symptoms, treatment begins. The conversion disorder treatment includes physical therapy to help the arms and legs move again. Psychotherapy to help a person overcome stress, depression and anxiety symptoms. This will help prevent recurrence of conversion disorder. The doctor may advise antianxiety medications, sedatives, etc. to overcome stress and other related conditions. In some cases, hypnosis is the line of treatment used to treat conversion disorder along with psychotherapy.

It is very common to observe conversion disorder in women. Inability to cope with trauma and stress may cause conversion disorder. So, sudden blindness, paralysis, fits, convulsions, deafness, etc., due to mental and emotional load may be termed as conversion disorder. One needs to carry out yoga, to help relieve the stress in life. People with some kind of mental disorder like depression, anxiety, etc., should be extra careful about stress.