You may have situations when your aches and pains, or the annoying physical sensations you experience, just don’t add up or simply cannot be explained. And though you have been to several doctors and have repeated blood tests and scans, nothing shows at all. You are getting frustrated and distressed by the ongoing pains and sensations, and angry as well as you keep hearing “there is nothing wrong” constantly. Over time, you may experience more anxiety, drastic mood changes, and persistent worrying or fixated ideas about your health. Yet the sensations or physical symptoms continue to haunt you.

Visiting a psychiatrist is not the “last resort”. The mental health specialist offers help for the unwanted symptoms and works alongside the other doctors to achieve control of these symptoms. These symptoms are real and can be managed from the mind-body perspective. Treatment may include psychotherapy and/or medication. Some conditions we may be familiar with fall in this category such as:

• Fibromyalgia
• Paroxysmal Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES)
• Body Dysmorphophobia
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Health Anxiety
• Somatoform Disorder