What Are Somatic Complaints?

Somatic complaints occur when a child expresses concern about their physical health when they feel common sensations, such as headaches. These complaints are a sign of somatic symptom disorder, a condition that can drastically affect a person’s quality of life. The excessive worry or emotional distress caused by this disorder can prevent a child from keeping up with school work, socializing with friends or engaging in other activities.

Treatment of somatic complaints and somatic symptom disorder often includes different therapies and the occasional use of mental health medications. If your child is struggling with somatic complaints or somatic symptom disorder, there are ways you can help them to improve their quality of life.

What Is Somatic Symptom Disorder?

Somatic symptom disorder is a that commonly affects children. Children with this condition often worry about physical sensations that are common, such as stomachaches, headaches or tiredness. The disorder can make a child feel like these sensations are a serious illness rather than a minor problem.

For example, a child who has a stomachache may interpret the feeling to mean they have a serious condition like cancer. Children who develop somatic symptom disorder can worry so excessively that they develop extreme anxiety and stress that interfere with their life and schooling.

It’s essential to note that somatic symptom disorder isn’t the same as health or illness anxiety. Illness anxiety occurs when children or adults worry about being sick without symptoms. Somatic symptom disorder is accompanied by common physical sensations that are interpreted as more severe.

What Causes Somatic Symptom Disorder or Somatic Complaints?

Biological and psychosocial factors contribute to the development of somatic symptom disorder and somatic complaints. Children’s environment and their learned ways of thinking play a significant role in developing this condition. Some of the biological and psychosocial factors that can lead to somatic complaints and somatic symptom disorders include:

• Excessive attention to the body and bodily functions
• Lower pain thresholds than normal
• Challenges or stress that make it challenging for children to communicate
• Unresolved symptoms from a previous sickness or injury
• Potential signs of an illness
• Increasing anxiety about physical health

These factors could evolve into excessive worry about physical health when experiencing normal symptoms and sensations that have minor causes.

List of Common Somatic Complaints

Children experiencing somatic symptoms feel that their minor symptoms are related to a more severe condition. While the complaints or symptoms will vary between each child, some of the somatic examples include:

• Pain
• Fainting or dizziness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Trouble breathing or shortness or breath
• A quick heartbeat
• Bowel problems, including constipation, gas, diarrhea or bloating
• Low energy levels or fatigue
• Memory challenges
• Weakness and other movement problems

The above symptoms indicate something more serious in a child’s mind when they have somatic symptom disorder. However, these symptoms often relate to something minor or could be part of normal bodily functions. These common complaints can range from mild to severe, and most children will experience more than one symptom. Individuals may also develop anxiety or depression caused by excessive worry about their physical health.

These symptoms can affect any part of a child’s body, the most common symptom being pain. Some of the most common locations your child may feel pain include the head, arms, legs, chest, joints and back.

How to Help Your Child

While it can be challenging to see your child struggling with somatic complaints and somatic symptom disorder, there are ways you can help. Some steps you can take to help them feel more comfortable in their body and lessen their anxiety include:

1. Involving Them in Their Treatment

You should work with your child to make sense of their symptoms and determine if any factors are causing them. You and your child should also develop a somatic symptom action plan and encourage your child to follow it. The plan can include:

• Detecting potential triggers for your child’s symptoms
• Talking honestly about their feelings
• Learning how to cope with stressful situations
• Learning and using coping mechanisms to prevent them from worsening
• Pacing your child’s activities throughout the week

Additionally, you’ll want to offer daily support to your child. You should try to understand what it’s like to be in their situation and be patient with them as they navigate their treatment. Celebrate small success, talk with your child about their feelings and praise them for their effort to engage in daily activities despite their symptoms.

2. Pacing Daily Activities

Children who experience somatic symptoms can return to the early iterations of their regular activities to help their treatment and offset their symptoms. The return to their everyday activities can include restarting routines, returning to school, getting plenty of sleep or exercising. You can help support your child by finding fun and engaging ways to return to their routine, such as playing games, taking family walks or finding a new hobby your child might enjoy.

You can also use graded activities if your child struggles with their symptoms. Graded activities involve starting with something you know your child can do safely. Over time, your child will increase the duration and type of activity until they can return to their routine.

3. Supporting Their Long-Term Recovery

You should take steps to support your child’s long-term recovery since it will take time for them to overcome their condition. You should help your child find effective ways to communicate their feelings and talk to their school about any accommodations they can provide to support your kid’s learning. You’ll also want to remain in contact with your child’s medical care team for advice and regular follow-up visits to monitor their progress toward their goals.

4. Working With Their School

If your child is experiencing somatic symptoms, you should meet with the school to develop a plan to help them attend their classes and address any concerns about your child’s learning. Facilitating communication between your child’s school and their health care team to make it easier for your child to participate in their education. You can also ask your doctor to write a letter explaining your child’s condition, outlining potential coping strategies or mechanisms.

5. Remembering to Support Yourself Throughout Their Treatment

While supporting your child while they learn to navigate their condition and physical feelings is essential, you’ll also want to take time to support yourself. Caring for a child with somatic complaints or somatic symptom disorder can take a toll on parents when they see their child in distress, which can turn into feelings of guilt, anxiety and helplessness.

Some ways you can support yourself throughout your treatment can include:

• Being kind to yourself
• Finding a support system to talk to and help with basic tasks
• Practicing self-care
• Recognizing that it’s essential to manage your distress and worry
• Remembering that this condition is common, and you’re not alone
• Remembering that there is hope for improvement in your child’s condition

Get Therapy for Your Child

If your child struggles with somatic symptom disorder, therapy can help them understand their symptoms and learn how to cope with them. Courageous Kids Counseling is a therapist group based out of New York specializing in child therapy that uses different types of treatment, including CBT, DBT, behavioral therapy and play therapy.

We can help your child develop the tools to manage their symptoms, lessening their anxiety and allowing them to participate in their daily activities and routine. Schedule an appointment today to get started!