Generalized anxiety disorder, somatization, and emotional dysregulation: A possible link

In clinical practice, it is quite common to deal with patients who primarily express somatic symptoms. They can be distinctive features of depressive disorders, of anxiety disorders, in particular general anxiety disorder, and, less commonly, of somatic symptom disorders. Nonetheless, in several patients, these three conditions could coexist and delineate a clinical picture driven by emotional dysregulation (ED). ED is an emotional response to external stimuli that is poorly modulated and does not fall within the conventionally accepted range of emotive response, which can be characterized by marked and rapid fluctuation of mood, mood lability, weeping crisis, eating problems, and up to behavior outbursts. In our clinical case, a female patient came to our attention reporting headache, gastrointestinal disturbance, hyporexia, and leg restlessness. The diagnostic approach is pictured, and a correct pharmacological treatment is shown in this chapter.