RASMUSSEN MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE
SOLUTION RESOURCE WITH TESTED
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS
◉ Somatoform disorder
Highest Priority. Answer: Often undergo unnecessary surgeries,
invasive diagnostic procedures, and drug trials, all of which can be
life-threatening.
◉ Somatoform Disorder
Secondary Gains. Answer: Somatization may be used for secondary
gains such as attention and decreased responsibilities.
◉ Hypochondriasis or Illness Anxiety Disorder
Definition. Answer: Preoccupied with having or eventually
developing a serious illness.
May or may not present with somatic symptoms, and if they do, the
symptoms are usually mild.
High level of anxiety and alarm about their health lasting at least 6
month.
May either excessively check for problems or avoid medical care.
,◉ Hypochondriasis
Signs and Symptoms. Answer: The most common symptoms are pain,
gastric or intestinal distress, palpitations, dizziness, shortness of
breath, sexual dysfunction, neurological symptoms, and fatigue.
◉ Hypochondriasis
Nursing Interventions. Answer: Nurses role is to assess for any
objective data and to explain the health complaints. Show concern,
but avoid fostering dependency.
◉ Conversion Disorder
Definition
Common Signs and Symptoms. Answer: Medical disorder (objective)
that cannot be explained.
This disorder presents with one or more symptoms of impaired motor
or sensory function. Findings are incompatible with or an
exaggeration of recognized neurological conditions and are not better
explained by another mental or medical disorder.
Most common are blindness, deafness, paralysis, inability to talk.
Symptoms are beyond conscious control and are related directly to
conflict .
◉ Conversion Disorder
Nursing Interventions. Answer: Encourage independence in ADL's in
a matter of fact manner.
, ◉ Dissociative Disorders
Definition. Answer: A disturbance in the normally well-integrated
continuum of consciousness, memory, identity, and perception.
Dissociation is an unconscious defense mechanism to protect the
individual against overwhelming anxiety related to past trauma, and
ranges from minor to severe in presentation.
Patients with dissociative disorders have intact reality testing,
meaning they are not delusional or hallucinating.
◉ Dissociative Fugue. Answer: The patient in a fugue state frequently
relocates and assumes a new identity while not recalling previous
identity or places previously inhabited.
The distracters are more consistent with paranoid schizophrenia,
generalized anxiety disorder, or bipolar disorder. Head injury,
posttraumatic stress disorder, or a neurological disorder should also be
considered.
◉ Dissociative Amnesia. Answer: Related to a traumatic incident, and
may be accompanied by a fugue where the patient flees from their
normal life to another location and starts a new life. Gradually over
time, memories of the original life may be triggered. Patients can
become confused and embarrassed when the amnesia subsides and
memory returns.
SOLUTION RESOURCE WITH TESTED
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS
◉ Somatoform disorder
Highest Priority. Answer: Often undergo unnecessary surgeries,
invasive diagnostic procedures, and drug trials, all of which can be
life-threatening.
◉ Somatoform Disorder
Secondary Gains. Answer: Somatization may be used for secondary
gains such as attention and decreased responsibilities.
◉ Hypochondriasis or Illness Anxiety Disorder
Definition. Answer: Preoccupied with having or eventually
developing a serious illness.
May or may not present with somatic symptoms, and if they do, the
symptoms are usually mild.
High level of anxiety and alarm about their health lasting at least 6
month.
May either excessively check for problems or avoid medical care.
,◉ Hypochondriasis
Signs and Symptoms. Answer: The most common symptoms are pain,
gastric or intestinal distress, palpitations, dizziness, shortness of
breath, sexual dysfunction, neurological symptoms, and fatigue.
◉ Hypochondriasis
Nursing Interventions. Answer: Nurses role is to assess for any
objective data and to explain the health complaints. Show concern,
but avoid fostering dependency.
◉ Conversion Disorder
Definition
Common Signs and Symptoms. Answer: Medical disorder (objective)
that cannot be explained.
This disorder presents with one or more symptoms of impaired motor
or sensory function. Findings are incompatible with or an
exaggeration of recognized neurological conditions and are not better
explained by another mental or medical disorder.
Most common are blindness, deafness, paralysis, inability to talk.
Symptoms are beyond conscious control and are related directly to
conflict .
◉ Conversion Disorder
Nursing Interventions. Answer: Encourage independence in ADL's in
a matter of fact manner.
, ◉ Dissociative Disorders
Definition. Answer: A disturbance in the normally well-integrated
continuum of consciousness, memory, identity, and perception.
Dissociation is an unconscious defense mechanism to protect the
individual against overwhelming anxiety related to past trauma, and
ranges from minor to severe in presentation.
Patients with dissociative disorders have intact reality testing,
meaning they are not delusional or hallucinating.
◉ Dissociative Fugue. Answer: The patient in a fugue state frequently
relocates and assumes a new identity while not recalling previous
identity or places previously inhabited.
The distracters are more consistent with paranoid schizophrenia,
generalized anxiety disorder, or bipolar disorder. Head injury,
posttraumatic stress disorder, or a neurological disorder should also be
considered.
◉ Dissociative Amnesia. Answer: Related to a traumatic incident, and
may be accompanied by a fugue where the patient flees from their
normal life to another location and starts a new life. Gradually over
time, memories of the original life may be triggered. Patients can
become confused and embarrassed when the amnesia subsides and
memory returns.
