• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.203-210
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• 2004

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical application of oriental medical therapy(OMT) and psychotherapy to a somatoform disorder patient with chronic pelycalgia and hemiparesis. Methods: We treated the patient with psychotherapy such as relaxation therapy and suggestion. OMT that we used is represented by retention enema therapy. The recovery of the pelycalgia was evaluated by Visual Analogue Scale(VAS). Results: Following the treatment the patient's pelycalgia and hemiparesis was improved. The sum of VAS score was rapidly decreased(from 113 to 28). Conclusion: OMT and psychotherapy have positive effects on the patient with chronic pelycalgia and hemiparesis.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.261-271
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was performed to report the effect of music-listening intervention and relaxation for somatoform disorder. Methods : A 51 year-old female patient suffered from several somatic symptoms without identifiable physical cause. We saw her symptoms were related to her psychological factors. We applied music-listening intervention and relaxation besides Korean traditional medical treatment to make her be aware of her psychological condition such as inner conflict and know symptoms are related to her psychological condition. Results : After the music-listening intervention and relaxation, the patient revealed her unrecognized hidden feelings and emotions and got some insights about herself. Then somatic symptoms such as dysesthesia and urinary frequency and anxiety were decreased considerably. Conclusions : These results suggest that the music-listening intervention and relaxation can be effective on improvement of soma to form disorder.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.185-194
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• 1997

A comparison was made regarding illness behavior among patients with somatoform disorders, depressive disorders and psychosomatic disorders. The subjects consisted of out-patients with somatoform disorders(N=52), depressive disorders(N=52) and psychosomatic disorders(N=51). illness behavior was assessed by illness Behavior Assessment Schedule and the questionnaire about help-seeking behavior. The patients with somatoform disorders and psychosomatic disorders more often affirmed the presence of somatic disease, were more likely to have phobia of disease, had more preoccupation with ideas of disease and more frequently shopped around oriental clinics than the patients with depressive disorders. The patients with somatoform disorders more often attributed its cause to physical factors, less often attributed the origin of affective disturbance to psychological causes, showed Less depression and irritability, and were less likely to accept psychiatric treatment recommended by other physicians than depressive patients. The patients with somatoform disorders were more likely to report having been told that they suffered from a mild illness than those with psychosomatic disorders. The patients with somatoform disorders with psychological problems tended to inhibit expression of their emotion. Female patients with somatoform disorders more often affirmed the presence of psychological disorder and attributed its cause to psychological factors than male ones. These results suggest that in illness behavior, patients with somatoform disorders are different from depressive patients, whereas the former patients are similar to psychosomatic patients except the discrepancy between therapists and patients regarding evaluation of their symptoms. Thus, it is emphasized that first, therapists need to approach patients with somatoform disorders somatically with understanding of their underlying need to deny psychological problems, followed by either psychological or biopsychosocial approach.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 1998

Thirteen female patients of somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder and somatoform disorder, NOS, diagnosed by DSM-IV were studied for their pain threshold and serum testosterone and the results were compared with the respective data of 20 control females. The results are as follows : 1) The pain threshold as measured by Variable Weight Pressure Algometer was significantly lower in the patient group(153.8${\pm}$39.5 gm/$0.05mm^2$) as compared to the control group(197.5${\pm}$66.7 gm/$0.05mm^2$)(p<0.05). 2) There was no significant difference of serum testosterone between the patient(0.175${\pm}$0.081 ng/ml) and the control(0.174${\pm}$0.108 ng/ml) groups. 3) A significant positive correlation was noted between the pain threshold and serum testosterone in the patient group(r=0.632, p<0.05, two tailed, Pearson's correlation test), but not in the normal control group(r= -0.405). From these results, it was suggested that the role of testosterone in endogenous pain control system might be more important in somatoform disorders than normals.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2006

Pain disorder is a category of somatoform disorder that be diagnosed when the pain is starting and getting worse associated with psychological factors. At the recent study, it revealed that stress might be more strong factor in occurring and sustaining the somatoform disorder. In this case, a 42 years old female patient had a chronic pain disorder 3 years ago, suddenly complained of an eyeball pain due to retina rupture induced by severe stress. In the view of oriental medicine, pain disorder belongs to GuQiJakTongJung. So, we diagnosed her state as GuQiJakTongJung and treated her such as herbal medicine, acupuncture and phlebotomy therapy. In result, the chronic pain of the patient was improved, and also general condition was getting better.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.76-85
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• 2004

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the emotional state and personality characteristics of patient with panic disorder. Methods: Twenty patients with panic disorder, 21 patients with somatoform disorder, and 20 normal healthy controls were studied. Korean version of Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI) and Korean standardized edition of Cattell's 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire(16-PF) were used for assessment. Statistically, One-way ANOVA with Scheffe test were used by SPSS/PC for windows. Results: 1) Total score of BDI was higher in the panic group than the somatoform group and normal control group(p<0.001). 2) Total score of state anxiety and trait anxiety in the panic group was higher than the somatoform group and normal control group(p<0.001). 3) In 16 PF, there were no definitely abnormal range of scores. But in first-stratum source traits of 16PF, the panic group was higher than the somatoform group and normal healthy group in O-factor (p<0.01) and Q4-factor(p<0.001). In second-stratum source traits of 16PF, the panic group was higher than the somatoform group in ANX-factor(p<0.05), but lower than normal control group in TOUfactor(p<0.05). 4) There were no differences in the panic subgroup according to sex and cutoff points of BDI score 16 and STAI-T score 54. 5) According to cutoff point of STAI-S score 52, the panic subgroup above 52 was higher than the panic subgroup under 52 in G-factor(p<0.001), Q3-factor(p<0.05) and SUP-factor(p<0.001), but lower in L-factor(p<0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that emotional state of patients with panic disorder are depressive and anxious as compared with patients with somatoform disorder and normal controls. Patients with panic disorder did not show any abnormal personality characteristics but were more guilt-prone, anxious, emotionally sensitive. We propose that the understanding of panic patients' emotional state and personality characteristics will helpful to treat and manage in patient with panic disorder.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 1997

This study was conducted to identify the relationships between personality disorders/traits and somatoform disorders. After the patients were screened through self-rated SCID-II Questionnaire(Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Questionnaire), the researcher got psychiatric history, performed clinician-rated SCID-P(Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Patient Edition), classified and diagnosed mental disorders with SCID-P, and evaluated SCID-II(Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Personality Disorders) by direct interview. The prevalencies of avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, schizotypal, narcissistic, paranoid, dependent, self-defeating, borderline personality disorders/traits in patients with somatoform disorders were diagnosed as 67.4%, 48.8%, 44.2%, 41.9%, 37.2%, 34.9%, 34.9%, 32.6%, respectively. The frequencies of self-defeating and schizotypal PD/traits were significantly higher than those of other neurotic control group. The results of this study could be regarded as replicating the results of previous studies that had reported most of all patients with somatoform disorder had presented with personality disorders/traits. This study, however, showed that the patients with somatoform disorders accompanied not with any specific types of personality disorders/traits but with various types of personality disorders/traits, which was much different from the previous usual clinical impressions. Thus, it is necessary for clinicians to approach the patients with somatoform disorders through more flexible and more supportive methods and attitude, in order that they should treat them more effectively.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.173-176
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• 2013

The hallucal interphalangeal sesamoid bone is usually asymptomatic, but it is not uncommon for it to be symptomatic in cases of undue pressure, overuse, or trauma. Even in symptomatic cases, however, patients often suffer for extended periods due to misdiagnosis, resulting in depression and anxiety that can steadily worsen to the extent that symptoms are sometimes mistaken for a somatoform disorder. Dynamic ultrasound-guided evaluations can be an effective means of detecting symptomatic sesamoid bones, and a simple injection of a small dose of local anesthetics mixed with steroids is an easily performed and effective treatment option in cases, for example, of tenosynovitis.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 1994

The authors investigated the relationship between the response to the external stimulation and ability of verbal behavior in the patients with somatoform disorder who have pain. The subjects consisted of 34 patients(male 10, female 24) and 37 normal controls(male 19, female 18). Pressure pain thesholds were measured by algometer and alexithymia was assessed by Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS). Somatization Scale of SCL-90R and Parental Bonding Instrument were also used. It was shown that 82.4% of the patients had chronic somatic complaints. The mean values of TAS, degree of somatic symptoms and pressure pain thresholds were significantly higher in the patient group than in the normal controls. 44.1% of the patients was considered alexithymia group and there was no correlation between scores of alexithymia and value of pressure pain thresholds. In conclusion, the patients with somatoform disorder who had pain were dull in pain perception to external physical stimulation. This result suggested that their low perception of pain could be closely related with chronicity of illness. And the Poverty of verbal expression of inner emotion was suggested to be one of the factors affecting somatization and difficulty in psychotherapy.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.78-91
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• 2002

Objective : The purpose of this study was to develop the somatization rating scale (SRS), and then to use the scale in clinical pracitice. Methods: First, a preliminary survey was conducted for 109 healthy adults to obtain 40 response items. Second, a preliminary questionnaire was completed by 215 healthy subjects. Third, a comparison was made regarding somatization responses among 242 patients (71 with anxiety disorder. 73 with depressive disorder, 47 with somatoform disorder, and 51 with psychosomatic disorder) and 215 healthy subjects. Results : Factor analysis yielded 5 subscales : cardiorespiratory and nervous responses, somatic sensitivity, gastrointestinal responses, general somatic responses, genitourinary, eye and muscular responses. Reliability was computed by administering the SRS to 62 healthy subjects during a 2-week interval. Test-retest reliability for 5 subscales and the total score was significantly high, ranging between .86-.94. Internal consistency was computed, and Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ for 5 subscales ranged between .72-.92, and .95 for the total score. Convergent validity was computed by correlating the 5 subscales and the total score with the total score of the global assessment of recent stress (GARS) scale, the perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ), and the symptom checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R). The correlations were all at significant levels. Discriminant validity was computed by comparing the total score and the 5 subscale scores of the patient and control groups. Significant differences were found for 5 subscales and the total score. Only the depressive disorder group was siginificantly higher than control group in all the subscale scores and total scores of SRS among 4 patient groups. In somatic sensitivity, only depressive disorder patients were significantly higher than the normal controls, whereas in general somatic subscale, depressive disorder and somatoform disorder groups were significantly higher than the normal controls. In total scores of the SRS, female subjects were significantly higher than males. Conclusion : These results indicate that the SRS is highly reliable and valid, and that it can be utilized as an effective measure for research in stress- and somatization-related fields. The depressive disorder and somatoform disorder groups showed more widespread somatization than the anxiety and psychosomatic disorder groups.