Conversion Disorder

Conversion disorder is a disorder in which patients suffer from neurological symptoms, when in fact they have no explanation. Generally when diagnosed with conversion disorder the patient will complain of one sudden debilitating symptom. The symptoms of this disorder range from blindness and the inability to speak to paralysis and hemianesthesia. The symptoms of conversion disorder often reflect previous ailments experienced by themselves or of others. Symptoms of conversion disorder usually go away in a week or two. These episodes are almost always caused by stressful or anxiety fueled event. Conversion disorder can appear from early childhood to old age, but typically people experience their first symptoms during adolescence or early adult years. About 0.01% to 0.05% of the population have conversion disorder. Though the disorder is generally rare, about 14% of patients in general hospitals poses conversion symptoms. In a two year study it was discovered that 78% of conversion disease patients were female. The ratio of females to males ranges from 2:1 to 10:1. The chance of getting conversion disorder goes up when a family member has the disease, and a co-existing personality or psychiatric disorder. The diagnosis of conversion disorder cannot be given until it is proven that the patients systems defy or violate the laws of anatomy and pathophysiology. There are no standard tests to check for conversion disorder, the tests depend on what type of symptoms are preset. The main purpose of these tests is an attempt to guess and check in order to rule out a medical or neurological disease. One major difference doctors and psychiatrists found is in the seizures. In “true seizures” it begins with a motionless stare or with automatisms (chewing, swallowing, finger rubbing, or lip smacking) then moves to more complex behaviors. “True seizures” end abruptly and patients afterwards are tired and out of it.
While in conversion seizures patients often begin with