A patient diagnosed with general anxiety disorder (GAD) reports ongoing nausea and abdominal bloating. A physical examination fails to confirm a medical illness to explain these symptoms. The healthcare provider suspects these findings are a result of which of the following?

Somatization, or somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a form of mental illness that causes physical symptoms, including pain. Somatization is a means of coping with psychosocial distress by developing physical symptoms (soma = body).The physical symptoms the patient is experiencing are caused by anxiety. The symptoms may or may not be explained by a known medical condition, but cause unusual levels of distress for the patient. Dysthymia is a persistent depressive disorder that may occur together with anxiety and somatization. Derealization is a sense of detachment from reality. Dissociation is impaired awareness of one's body, self, or environment, and may include derealization.