The somatoform disorders: 6 characters in search of an author.

摘要

In DSM-III, DSM-III-R, and DSM-IV, there are 6 major somatoform disorders: somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder, conversion disorder, hypochondriasis, pain disorder associated with psychological factors (code 307.80), and pain disorder associated with both psychological factors and a general medical condition (code 307.89). Their status and characterization are being re-examined as part of the development of DSM-5. In Luigi Pirandello's famous 1921 play Six Characters in Search of an Author, the performance begins as an acting company begins a rehearsal, which is disrupted by the arrival of 6 unfinished characters in search of an author to finish their story. Like Pirandello's characters, where should the somatoform disorders best appear in the diagnostic classification? What rewriting do they require?