An Approach to Symptoms at the Interface of Medicine and Psychiatry: Pain, Insomnia, Weight Loss and Anorexia, Fatigue and Forgetfulness, and Sexual Dysfunction

Primary care physicians commonly deal with patients who present with a somatic complaint for which no clear organic etiology can be found. This article discusses how a psychiatrist thinks about somatic symptoms (eg, pain, insomnia, weight loss and loss of appetite, fatigue and forgetfulness, sexual dysfunction) in a patient who might have depression. The management of a patient in whom no satisfactory medical or psychiatric diagnosis can be made is also reviewed briefly.