AIIMS Bhatinda NO - 2019
Mental Health Nursing
Easy
The defence mechanism in which emotional conflicts are expressed through motor, sensory, or somatic disability is identified as?
Appeared in: AIIMS Bhatinda NO - 2019
Explanation
- Conversion is an unconscious defense mechanism where psychological stress or emotional conflict is 'converted' into physical (somatic) symptoms.
- These symptoms typically involve motor or sensory functions, such as paralysis, blindness, mutism, or seizures, but lack any identifiable medical or neurological cause.
- The physical symptom serves to keep the internal conflict out of conscious awareness, thereby reducing anxiety (primary gain).
- The term 'conversion' was historically used because the psychic energy from the conflict was thought to be converted into a physical symptom.
Why Other Options Were Wrong
- Option A: Dissociation is a mental process, not a physical one. It involves a disconnection from reality, such as memory loss (amnesia) or a feeling of detachment from oneself or the environment (depersonalization). It does not involve the creation of a physical symptom like paralysis.
- Option B: Psychosomatic refers to a genuine physical disease or condition that is caused or exacerbated by mental factors like stress. In a psychosomatic illness (e.g., a stress-induced ulcer), there is a real, demonstrable organic pathology. In conversion, there is no underlying physical pathology.
- Option C: Compensation is a behavioral strategy, not a somatic one. It involves making up for a perceived or real weakness in one area by excelling in another. It does not involve the expression of conflict through physical symptoms.
Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
- Nursing practice connection: Knowing Defense Mechanisms in Psychiatry helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
- When a patient presents with symptoms suggestive of conversion disorder, the nurse's first priority is to participate in a thorough assessment to rule out any underlying organic disease. This prevents misdiagnosis and ensures patient safety.
- Nursing care should be supportive and non-judgmental. Focus on the patient's feelings and the underlying stressor, rather than focusing on the physical symptom itself. Avoid reinforcing the 'sick role'.
- Encourage patients to develop healthier coping strategies for stress and anxiety through therapeutic communication and collaboration with the mental health team.
How to Approach the Question
- First, identify the core concept of the question, which is to identify a specific defense mechanism based on its description.
- Analyze the keywords in the stem: 'emotional conflicts', 'expressed through', and 'motor, sensory, or somatic disability'. This points to a direct link where the mind's problem becomes a body's symptom.
- Evaluate each option against this description:
- Dissociation is a mental 'detachment', not a physical symptom.
- Compensation is a behavioral 'overachievement', not a physical symptom.
- Psychosomatic involves a real physical disease made worse by stress, not a symptom created from conflict.
Concept Tested & Keywords
- Concept Tested: Defense Mechanisms in Psychiatry
- Stem keywords: defence mechanism, emotional conflicts, motor disability, sensory disability, somatic disability
- Lead-in keywords: identified as
- Negative lead-in flag: false
Question ID
QB9WCW0c75Yx4agKuGLy8F
Reference Book
E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) pp. 9540-9542, 2994-2996
E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) p. 3348-3350
Practise the full AIIMS Bhatinda NO - 2019
Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.
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