Somatoform Australia

This website is dedicated to all those who suffer from any of the various Somatoform Disorders, including Conversion Disorders and Somatisation Disorders. This site is also dedicated to the families and friends of sufferers of these disorders.

The information about these disorders is scattered, and the conditions are not well understood by so many health professionals and other service providers, so my vision is to see an Australian support group properly set up to provide easy-to-find and easy-to-understand information to everyone who has an interest of any kind in Somatoform Disorders.

The main cause of Somatoform Disorders seems to be the inability for a person's emotions to surface into the conscious area of the brain properly.

The subconconscious mind continually processes things that pour in from all the various senses that we are almost completely unaware of unless we stop and think about them. Almost all of this stuff is automatically stored away without any conscious awareness. Only a very small percentage surfaces to the conscious part of the brain which is when we become aware of it.

The Flight, Fight, Freeze mechanism completely bypasses the conscious mind as the subconscious mind sends instructions straight down into the body when faced with a threat. This process seems to be triggered more often in some people than in others and instead of the sensory input coming up into the person's consciousness, it goes down into the body. This can cause all kinds of physical symptoms ranging from digestive upsets (such as stress reactions and food sensitivities) to weird neurological symptoms and more.

It seems that Somatoform symptoms are very common in the general community. It has been reported that up to 80% of doctor visits could be for Somatoform symptoms. It's only when these symptoms interfere with quality of life or start appearing in many different areas of the body that it becomes a Disorder.

Somatoform Disorders can occur in males and females and at any age, however it more commonly starts in teenage girls and less commonly in middle aged men. It is also quite common in teenage girls who have a good relationship with their mothers, ie the good girl syndrome.

Many people with a Somatoform Disorder have had a traumatic experience in their younger life. Most of them have been unable to talk to their significant adult (parent) or other person about it for one reason or another. The Disorder may not surface for many years, but this does seem to be a common thread for somatisers.

I have set up this site because I suffer from Somatisation Disorder. I understand exactly what it's like to have weird, sometimes frightening and almost completely unexplained symptoms that interfere with my daily life. I would love to have contact with other people who have this condition. You can contact me at...