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Example Care Plan_Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) (Cheat Sheet)
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This is a nursing care plan for somatic symptom disorder. Somatic symptom disorder also previously known as somatoform disorder is a mental illness and it causes unexplained physical symptoms such as pain, and it's very distressing and it disrupts the patient's normal functioning. While there may not be a physical reason for the symptoms, the patients oftentimes are upset because it's real to them. There may not be an explanation, but the distress and pain that the client feels is very real. These are a few of the conditions that make up somatic symptom disorder. So first we have some somatization disorder that just involves physical symptoms. Then there's a conversion disorder. That's when there are motor or sensory function disorders, there's a pain disorder and they have a strong feeling of pain with strong physiological involvement. There's body dysmorphic disorder when they are preoccupied with an image or an imagined physical deficit.
And there's a hypochondria, which is the fear of having a life-threatening illness. Some nursing considerations are that we want to assess and manage pain. The pain is real for these patients. So we want to make sure that we assess that we want to determine what is causing the condition. If at all possible, we want to see any causes or alleviating factors for the pain, any potential triggers. And we want to assess suicidal ideation. The desired outcome is that this patient's pain is going to be managed. The patient's going to have optimal control in recognizing and managing symptoms related to the psychological factors. The client is going to have improved independence and functioning of daily activities. So when a patient comes in and they are complaining of having pain, they are going to have a list of symptoms. We're going to list out a few of them here. So the patient's going to have pain. They're going to be short of breath. They may have some nausea,and maybe some vomiting. They'll have some vision problems. They also have some amnesia depending on what type of SSD that they have. They may complain of some sexual dysfunction, some headaches and dysphasia. So, difficulty swallowing.
What we're going to observe is we are going to see something that is unremarkable. So we're going to see imaging. We're going to look at the objective data and we're going to see the x-ray and the CT. So let's write that here. So unremarkable x-rays CTS, MRIs, ultrasounds; they're all going to be unremarkable. And guess what else is going to be unremarkable? Their lab results. Their lab tests are going to be within normal limits. So we're not going to see any type of disorders that are going to present via blood draws on the imagery. They may complain of paralysis. The patient may manifest with paralysis.
Again, all of these things are very real to the patient. So what are some things that we can do with this condition with a SSD? Well, the first thing that I think as a nursing intervention is we need to assess their pain. We want to assess pain. Remember pain is very, very subjective. It's what you feel is what the patient feels. Remember, we have to manage the pain, regardless of if it's showing on the lab or on imaging or on the vital signs. We want to make sure we assess pain. Pain is real to patients. The last thing we want to do is to discuss symptoms with the client, when they began, and what makes them better or worse? If it's pain, that's what we call old carts with pain.
If it's something else is going to help us make a more definitive diagnosis, and it's going to help determine how to best treat the client, making sure that we help the client recognize and avoid situations that make symptoms worse; those triggers. So let's discuss triggers. We want to discuss triggers next. We want to discuss signs and symptoms. So we want to discuss signs and symptoms and what triggers actually trigger those symptoms. We want to make sure that the family is aware and that they understand the reality of the client's condition. It can really be helpful in long-term management. That's, that's the key long term management of the condition. We want to make sure that the family is willing to provide realistic feedback and support. Remember, this is a condition and where these signs and symptoms are real to the patient.
They manifest real inside of the patient. So we want to make sure that we're supporting that. We also want to make sure that we assess the client and see if they are having suicidal or homicidal ideations or potential substance abuse. We want to make sure that the safety of the client and those around them is the number one priority. So we want to make sure we assess suicidal ideation and if appropriate, we will put the client on suicide precautions as well. And then we want to provide teaching and demonstrations of relaxation techniques. We want to include progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises. These exercises are non-pharmacological and these tend to really help these patients that are presenting with SSD. It's going to help the client relieve acute pain and distress that they may feel, but also it's going to help them learn to control and manage the symptoms through focus and calming.
Deep breathing exercises are what's important for these patients so they can have a sense of control. So let's take a look at the key points. Remember, the patho of this is that this is a mental illness. SSD is a mental illness that causes unexplained physical symptoms, such as pain. And it's very disruptive to the patient's life. The subjective data that the patient is going to present with is that they are going to have pain. They're going to have fatigue. They're going to have chest pain, anxiety, and shortness of breath. However, for us, it's going to show vomiting. They're all remarkable. CT, x-ray MRI. They're going to have normal lab results. They may have some paralysis that manifests from the condition. Our first and number one thing is we're going to do a good pain assessment. We want to make sure that we are on top of their pain because, remember, pain is subjective and it must be addressed.
Whether it may not be a physical reason for pain, we must address it per the policy of your facility. Also these patients, because of all of the things that are going on, are not listened to by their healthcare team. They are at an increased risk for suicide. So we want to assess if they have a plan, if they do have a plan, maybe we want to make a suicide contract with these patients. And then this is initiate a suicide risk. I know that this was a lot of content, but you all are going to get through it. Well, we love you guys; go out and be your best self today. And, as always, happy nursing.
And there's a hypochondria, which is the fear of having a life-threatening illness. Some nursing considerations are that we want to assess and manage pain. The pain is real for these patients. So we want to make sure that we assess that we want to determine what is causing the condition. If at all possible, we want to see any causes or alleviating factors for the pain, any potential triggers. And we want to assess suicidal ideation. The desired outcome is that this patient's pain is going to be managed. The patient's going to have optimal control in recognizing and managing symptoms related to the psychological factors. The client is going to have improved independence and functioning of daily activities. So when a patient comes in and they are complaining of having pain, they are going to have a list of symptoms. We're going to list out a few of them here. So the patient's going to have pain. They're going to be short of breath. They may have some nausea,and maybe some vomiting. They'll have some vision problems. They also have some amnesia depending on what type of SSD that they have. They may complain of some sexual dysfunction, some headaches and dysphasia. So, difficulty swallowing.
What we're going to observe is we are going to see something that is unremarkable. So we're going to see imaging. We're going to look at the objective data and we're going to see the x-ray and the CT. So let's write that here. So unremarkable x-rays CTS, MRIs, ultrasounds; they're all going to be unremarkable. And guess what else is going to be unremarkable? Their lab results. Their lab tests are going to be within normal limits. So we're not going to see any type of disorders that are going to present via blood draws on the imagery. They may complain of paralysis. The patient may manifest with paralysis.
Again, all of these things are very real to the patient. So what are some things that we can do with this condition with a SSD? Well, the first thing that I think as a nursing intervention is we need to assess their pain. We want to assess pain. Remember pain is very, very subjective. It's what you feel is what the patient feels. Remember, we have to manage the pain, regardless of if it's showing on the lab or on imaging or on the vital signs. We want to make sure we assess pain. Pain is real to patients. The last thing we want to do is to discuss symptoms with the client, when they began, and what makes them better or worse? If it's pain, that's what we call old carts with pain.
If it's something else is going to help us make a more definitive diagnosis, and it's going to help determine how to best treat the client, making sure that we help the client recognize and avoid situations that make symptoms worse; those triggers. So let's discuss triggers. We want to discuss triggers next. We want to discuss signs and symptoms. So we want to discuss signs and symptoms and what triggers actually trigger those symptoms. We want to make sure that the family is aware and that they understand the reality of the client's condition. It can really be helpful in long-term management. That's, that's the key long term management of the condition. We want to make sure that the family is willing to provide realistic feedback and support. Remember, this is a condition and where these signs and symptoms are real to the patient.
They manifest real inside of the patient. So we want to make sure that we're supporting that. We also want to make sure that we assess the client and see if they are having suicidal or homicidal ideations or potential substance abuse. We want to make sure that the safety of the client and those around them is the number one priority. So we want to make sure we assess suicidal ideation and if appropriate, we will put the client on suicide precautions as well. And then we want to provide teaching and demonstrations of relaxation techniques. We want to include progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises. These exercises are non-pharmacological and these tend to really help these patients that are presenting with SSD. It's going to help the client relieve acute pain and distress that they may feel, but also it's going to help them learn to control and manage the symptoms through focus and calming.
Deep breathing exercises are what's important for these patients so they can have a sense of control. So let's take a look at the key points. Remember, the patho of this is that this is a mental illness. SSD is a mental illness that causes unexplained physical symptoms, such as pain. And it's very disruptive to the patient's life. The subjective data that the patient is going to present with is that they are going to have pain. They're going to have fatigue. They're going to have chest pain, anxiety, and shortness of breath. However, for us, it's going to show vomiting. They're all remarkable. CT, x-ray MRI. They're going to have normal lab results. They may have some paralysis that manifests from the condition. Our first and number one thing is we're going to do a good pain assessment. We want to make sure that we are on top of their pain because, remember, pain is subjective and it must be addressed.
Whether it may not be a physical reason for pain, we must address it per the policy of your facility. Also these patients, because of all of the things that are going on, are not listened to by their healthcare team. They are at an increased risk for suicide. So we want to assess if they have a plan, if they do have a plan, maybe we want to make a suicide contract with these patients. And then this is initiate a suicide risk. I know that this was a lot of content, but you all are going to get through it. Well, we love you guys; go out and be your best self today. And, as always, happy nursing.
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