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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffConversion disorder is a condition in which you show psychological stress in physical ways. The condition was so named to describe a health problem that starts as a mental or emotional crisis — a scary or stressful incident of some kind — and converts to a physical problem.
In conversion disorder, your leg may become paralyzed after you fall from a horse, even though you weren't physically injured. Conversion disorder signs and symptoms appear with no underlying physical cause, and you can't control them.
Signs and symptoms of conversion disorder typically affect your movement or your senses, such as the ability to walk, swallow, see or hear. Conversion disorder symptoms can be severe, but for most people, they get better within a couple of weeks.
- Conversion disorder. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
- Yutzy SH, et al. Conversion disorder. Skodol AE, et al. Specific personality disorders. In: Hales RE, et al. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/resourceToc.aspx?resourceID=5. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
- Compton K. Conversion disorder. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1078203392&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00012-3--sc0215&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00012-3--sc0215&uniqId=225194068-16. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
- Chastan N, et al. Psychogenic paralysis and recovery after motor cortex transcranial magnetic stimulation. Movement Disorders. 2010;25:1501.
- Conversion disorder. In: Gabbard GO, ed. Textbook of Psychotherapeutic Treatments. 4th ed.Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2009. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/resourceToc.aspx?resourceID=31. Accessed Nov. 3, 2010.
- Hall-Flavin DF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 3, 2010.
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