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. Somatoform disorder, also known as somatic symptom disorder (SSD) or psychosomatic disorder, is a mental health condition that causes an individual to experience physical bodily symptoms in response to psychological distress. somatoform disorders a group of mental disorders in which physical symptoms suggest the presence of a medical disorder but are not fully explained by a general medical condition, the direct effects of a psychoactive substance, or another mental disorder. Symptoms are not under voluntary control, unlike those occurring in factitious disorders. The category includes: body dysmorphic disorder. When mental factors such as stress cause physical symptoms the condition is known as somatisation. Somatoform disorders are a severe form of somatisation. Somatoform disorders decoded: from somatic symptoms to pain disorders. Strategies, research and treatments for mind-body challenges. Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) involves having excessive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors about a physical symptom that may not have a medical cause. Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a mental disorder characterized by an excessive focus on physical symptoms—such as pain or shortness of breath —that cause significant distress or impairment. Individuals with SSD experience disproportionate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to their symptoms. The symptoms themselves are not deliberately produced or feigned (as they are in. Somatoform disorders involve physical symptoms suggesting illness or injury that any medical condition cannot fully explain. Symptoms are real and cause significant distress or impairment, but psychological factors like stress or trauma are likely involved in their manifestation. WebMD explains the symptoms and treatment of a somatoform disorder -- a mental disorder in which patients experience pain that can't be traced to any physical cause. Somatoform disorders are characterized by physical symptoms with no known cause. While these conditions can cause anxiety and stress, treatment is available.