   Conversion disorder  Conversion disorders, categorised under
the heading of Somatoform Disorders in both DSM IV and ICD 10
have an historical heritage in the classical descriptions of
hysteria as presented by, for example, Sigmund Freud. As a group
of syndromes they are representative of the combined
understanding of brain disorders, once again after decades of a
dichotomous approach to the brain in medicine, being treated by
the subspecialty of Neuropsychiatry.  Conversion disorder
manifests itself in many different ways. Conversion disorders
can be triggered by acute psychosocial stress that the
individual cannot process psychologically. This overwhelming
distress causes the brain to unconsciously disable or impair a
bodily function which will relieve or prevent the patient from
experiencing this stressor again. Therefore, the psychosocial
stress could be seen to be "converted' into a physical symptom.
The patient, by definition, is always unaware of this process,
and is often not concerned with his defi