Conversion disorder

Conversion disorder (CD) is a diagnostic category previously used in some psychiatric classification systems. It is sometimes applied to patients who present with neurological symptoms, such as numbness, blindness, paralysis, or fits, which are not consistent with a well-established organic cause, and which cause significant distress. It is thought that these symptoms arise in response to stressful situations affecting a patient's mental health or an ongoing mental health condition such as depression. Conversion Disorder was removed from the DSM, and replaced with the umbrella term Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder in the DSM-V. Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder covers the same range of symptoms, however removes the requirement for a psychological stressor to be present. Doctors are now advised not to use the term 'Conversion Disorder' when diagnosing patients.