Somatization of anxiety disorders in the practice of a neurologist: Algorithms and approaches to differentiated treatment

Abstract

As of now, somatization of disorders when its physical symptoms may be caused by mental, psychological, or emotional factors is an extremely common event in clinical practice. The somatization is considered to mean the conversion of mental stress to somatic symptoms. The mechanisms and specific features of somatization disorders within generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder are of interest. One of the theories about the causes of somatization disorders proposes that somatization is as a way of avoiding psychological stress: it serves to protect from psychological pain, which allows the label of a psychiatric diagnosis to be circumvented in the majority of cases. Some patients unconsciously substitute the experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression for the development of physical symptoms; anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental disorders. Among various forms of anxiety disorders, panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorders are most often met with neurologists. In some patients, the clinical picture is characterized by a concurrence of both the permanent and paroxysmal symptoms of anxiety, which is not only important to analyze the individual course of the disease, but also responsible for the addressness of a therapeutic approach to a greater extent. There are data of clinical trials and current algorithms for the therapy of generalized anxiety and related disorders reflecting the complexity of a therapeutic approach. The trials of the therapeutic effectiveness of these or those psychopharmacological agents demonstrate the importance of different groups of drugs in relation to the clinical features of detectable disorders. A number of trials indicate that the use of benzodiazepines (such as phenazepam) may be considered irreplaceable as an emergency care on an exacerbation of anxiety and exceptional therapeutic orientation by using selective antidepressants not always can solve diverse clinical problems.