Lesson 39: Somatic Symptom Disorder – Excessive Worry about Physical Symptoms (Lessons 1401–1440) · Course Catalog

1. Overview of Somatic Symptom Disorder
   To understand the spectrum of disorders centered on physical discomfort and maintained by psychological factors, and to clarify that it is neither faking illness nor exaggeration.
2. Excessive worry about physical symptoms and its psychological mechanism
   From attentional bias, catastrophic interpretation, and avoidance—examining the formation of the cyclical explanation of "the more you care, the more uncomfortable you feel."
3. Causes and Risk Factors for Somatic Symptom Disorder
   Physiological sensitivity, early experiences, stress load, and health beliefs work together to form and maintain susceptibility.
4. Diagnosis and Assessment of Somatic Symptom Disorder
   By combining clinical interviews, scales, and necessary medical examinations, functional and organic problems can be distinguished.
5. Treatment and intervention for somatic symptom disorder
   The core of the approach is cognitive behavioral therapy, mind-body-based relaxation and exposure, doctor-patient collaboration, and moderating medical strategies.
6. How does excessive focus on bodily sensations develop?
   Explaining the amplification of interoceptive sensation and selective attention; learning techniques for gently shifting attention outward.
7. The dual impact of psychological stress and physical symptoms
   Stress amplifies pain and discomfort, and discomfort in turn exacerbates stress; establish a stress reduction and recovery schedule.
8. How anxiety amplifies physical discomfort
   Identify anxiety-driven scans and alarms, and practice breathing and muscle relaxation to reduce arousal.
9. Fear and misunderstanding of disease
   Use probability and facts to hedge against the "worst-case scenario" and learn evidence-based health knowledge.
10. The cycle of body scans and repeated examinations
    Reduce compulsive self-checks and use "deferred checks" and timeboxes to break the cycle.
11. Medical Seeking Behavior and Over-Medication
    Establish a "first-choice doctor + review" medical treatment path to avoid information anxiety caused by seeking medical help from multiple sources.
12. Health anxiety caused by internet searches
    Set search frequency and whitelist to replace catastrophic information intake.
13. Over-vigilance over "unknown symptoms"
    Acknowledging uncertainty, observation periods and functional indicators are used instead of 24/7 monitoring.
14. Mechanisms of pain sensitization
    Understand central sensitization and the concept of "the more you fear, the more it hurts," and practice gentle exposure and rhythmic activities.
15. Autonomic nervous system tension and amplification of physical symptoms
    Regulate the balance of the autonomic nervous system through prolonged exhalation, rhythmic breathing, and light exercise.
16. Physical and mental reactions under long-term stress
    Identify the sleep, gastrointestinal, and pain chains of chronic stress and create a daily unload list.
17. How to distinguish between real illness and amplified anxiety
    A preliminary diagnosis can be made based on the three dimensions of "red flag symptoms - functional limitation - time trajectory" to determine the appropriate medical treatment.
18. Principles for managing multi-organ symptoms
    Focus on common mechanisms and functional objectives to avoid the exhaustion of tackling each part individually.
19. Why I'm still worried even though the test results are normal?
    Explain the significance of a negative test, address the fear of missed diagnoses, and shift the focus to function and life goals.
20. How excessive worry affects daily life
    Shift from a "symptom-oriented" approach to a "value-oriented" approach to restore engagement in learning and social interaction.
21. Difficulty in communicating physical symptoms with family members
    Instead of arguing, express your feelings and needs to reach a consensus and establish support boundaries.
22. Facing recurring symptoms and a sense of uncontrollability
    Prepare a fluctuating script to distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable fluctuations, and reduce ineffective countermeasures.
23. Behavioral avoidance and symptom persistence
    By tiered exposure, activities can be gradually resumed, reducing reliance on "safe behaviors".
24. The foundation of body awareness training
    Establish a safe connection with your body using gentle body scans and orientation techniques.
25. Relaxation exercises to reduce physical tension
    A combination of progressive relaxation, stretching, and heat therapy lowers alertness and pain thresholds.
26. How to build a sense of security about one's body
    Rebuild your body’s credibility through regular routines, a stable diet, and predictable activities.
27. Cognitive restructuring: Adjusting the interpretation of symptoms
    Identify catastrophizing, overgeneralization, and mind reading; practice evidence-alternative thinking.
28. Exposure exercises: Facing symptoms instead of avoiding them
    Approaching triggering situations within a safe framework, learn to "allow discomfort and maintain action".
29. Specific methods to reduce symptom monitoring
    Set monitoring time periods and frequency limits, and use functional indicators to replace real-time checks.
30. The relationship between emotion recognition and bodily responses
    Visualize the "emotion-mind-body" triangle to enhance its nameability and regulatory capacity.
31. The triangular cycle of mind-emotion-body
    Practice breaking points in a triangular cycle using case studies to solidify alternative paths.
32. The difference between health anxiety and somatic symptom disorder
    Differentiate between health-related anxiety and pathological anxiety, and clarify intervention priorities.
33. Improve your physical experience through sleep and lifestyle.
    Establish a fixed wake-up time and bedtime transition period to enhance the sense of recovery and lower the pain threshold.
34. Improved physical fitness and recovery
    Improve endurance through low-to-moderate intensity, progressive aerobic and strength training.
35. Diet and Body Energy Balance
    Maintaining stable blood sugar levels and hydration, reducing irritant intake, and supporting physical and mental recovery.
36. Strategies to reduce repeated medical visits
    Establish a routine and goals for follow-up visits, and focus on recording changes rather than chasing fleeting feelings.
37. The correct way to record symptoms
    It uses a two-tiered recording system (daily/weekly) to focus on functionality, emotion, and context rather than minute-level details.
38. The role of family support in healing
    Transform family members from "evidence judges" to "training partners" to reduce disputes and increase joint training.
39. Relapse warning signs and coping methods
    Create a personal warning list and a three-step response card to slow down the pace of the situation and prevent it from worsening.
40. Long-term improvement strategies for somatic symptom disorder
    Integrate cognitive, behavioral, and lifestyle pathways to establish a maintainable annual review mechanism.
41. Traditional Themed Mandalas (Supplementary Course)
    Strengthen mind-body regulation and concentration through image-based calming exercises.
42. Lesson 39: Somatic Symptom Disorders (Lessons 1401-1440) Course Assessment
    Please complete the course evaluation to review your learning and provide suggestions. This will help you deepen your understanding and help us improve the course.