ALEXITHYMIA AND SOMATOSENSORY AMPLIFICATION AMONG GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER PATIENTS

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic, relapsing anxiety disorder characterized by symptom clusters of worry, functional somatic symptoms, and autonomic hyperactivity. International Classication of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) diagnostic criteria still includes symptoms from all the abovementioned psychopathology clusters of GAD (1). However, in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM), focus shift away from somatic to psychic concern in the diagnosis of GAD (2,3). However, the presence of functional somatic symptoms is must for the diagnosis of GAD both in DSM 5 and ICD-10. The literature on functional somatic symptoms in major depressive disorder, somatoform disorders suggest a correlation of the symptoms with constructs such as somatosensory amplication and alexithymia (4, 5).As functional somatic symptoms are one of the essential criteria of GAD, it is very much relevant from the etiological and psychotherapeutic point of views to measure these constructs in subjects with GAD. In our literature search, we could come across very little research on this important area of investigation (6, 7). In addition, patients from the South Asian countries are shown to present more often with somatic symptoms than psychological symptoms (8). However, the research on functional somatic symptoms in general and GAD in particular in South Asian countries is very scant, and none of the studies have evaluated the above-mentioned correlates in patients with GAD (9, 10). The purpose of the current study was to study somatosensory amplication and alexithymia, in patients with GAD.