Somatization is the expression of mental phenomena as physical (somatic) symptoms. Disorders characterized by somatization extend in a continuum from those in which symptoms develop unconsciously and nonvolitionally to those in which symptoms develop consciously and volitionally. Somatization occurs when psychological distress manifests as physical symptoms in the body. For example, someone experiencing intense grief might develop severe fatigue, or a person under chronic. Somatic symptom disorder (SSD formerly known as somatization disorder or somatoform disorder ) is a form of mental illness that causes one or more bodily symptoms, including pain. Somatization is the experience of psychological distress in the form of physical symptoms. People who somatize often feel like their body is betraying them, and they may not be able to identify a specific cause for their symptoms. The meaning of SOMATIZATION is conversion of a mental state (such as depression or anxiety) into physical symptoms; also : the existence of physical bodily complaints in the absence of a known medical condition. Somatization is the expression of mental experiences into physical responses. Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by an obsession with unexplained physical symptoms, commonly physical pain, which cannot be explained by medical disorders. When mental factors such as stress cause physical symptoms the condition is known as somatisation. Somatoform disorders are a severe form of somatisation. The term central sensitization has been created to describe the neurobiological notion that those predisposed to somatization have an overly sensitive neural network. Somatization is the generation of somatic symptoms due to psychological distress, often coinciding with a tendency to seek medical help for them. [1][2] The term somatization was introduced by Wilhelm Stekel in 1924. Overview Somatic symptom disorder involves focusing too much on physical symptoms such as pain or tiredness. This focus causes major emotional distress and makes it hard to function. You may or may not have another medical condition that causes these symptoms. But how you think, feel and behave because of the symptoms can be extreme.