Back in 2010, two Danish doctors redefined several physiological illnesses into a single mental disorder called body distress syndrome.
The controversial idea soon caught on, however, because, quite simply, medical science had no physical explanation for these illnesses, which included fibromyalgia, and so a suspected mental cause won out.
A Study to Test the Idea
The study to test that idea, conducted by P. Fink and A. Schroder, published in 2010, lead to changes in the new Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to include a diagnosis of bodily distress syndrome.
The study used DSM-IV definitions (which do not include bodily distress syndrome) for six well-accepted somatoform disorders characterized by physical symptoms. It compared diagnosis with those against a diagnosis for bodily distress syndrome to test the description used for it as a diagnosis tool – the same description now appearing in DSM-5.
Their study found that the new disorder does capture the syndromes that present with otherwise unexplained physical symptoms.
Better Research, Better Treatment Options
This may not seem like much to those who suffer from problems like fibromyalgia, but it means that research into what causes these physical manifestations of pain and ailment to happen will be better able to define and combine findings.
This is very likely going to lead to much-improved study and possible treatments for disorders like this, which could potentially help millions of people worldwide.
Those who suffer from neurasthenia, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, fibromyalgia and others stand to benefit greatly over the long term.
