A patient comes to the ED stating that he suddenly became deaf. It is determined that his wife has recently asked for a divorce. What is the basis for the possibility that this patient is experiencing a conversion disorder?
a. Inventing the symptom helps in diverting attention from the marital problems.
b. Such a traumatic life change is likely to result in some form of mental illness.
c. The loss is a protective mechanism to help deal with overwhelming anxiety.
d. Men often exhibit this disorder since it is more accepted than showing sadness.
ANS: C
The scenario suggests that the patient is experiencing symptoms of conversion disorder, an anxiety disorder in which the symptom affects voluntary sensory or motor function and mimics a neurological disorder as a result of extreme anxiety, such as learning of his wife's desire to divorce him. There is no organic basis for the hearing loss but it is not under the pa-tient's voluntary control. Most traumas are not dealt with by developing a mental illness but by rather coping effectively. Males are as likely as females to display conversion disorder symptoms.
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