The stiff man syndrome: a psychiatric disease?
Although the Stiff Man Syndrome has been traditionally viewed as a neurologic disorder, a number of recent articles have documented a pattern of familial, interpersonal, and intrapsychic stress which suggests that this disease may be, to a considerable degree, psychosomatic in origin. The present paper reviews several recent articles and focuses on a single case study. Although the medical diagnosis was earlier confirmed, an in-depth psychiatric evaluation and extensive psychological assessment showed many psychopathological concomitants associated with the severe muscle spasm and stiffness. A follow-up after about a year of group and individual psychotherapy showed that the symptoms were still in remission, and that the patient was functioning personally and occupationally on a significantly improved level.
D000328:Adult; D005356:Fibromyalgia; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009120:Muscle Cramp / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013577:Syndrome; D013614:Tachycardia, Paroxysmal / Q000523:psychology