The nurse is working with a client diagnosed with Somatic Symptom Disorder. What predominant symptoms should the nurse expect to assess?

a. Assist the client with bathing and toileting. This intervention addresses the client's immediate and essential needs. Ensuring basic hygiene and toileting are crucial for maintaining the client's health, dignity, and comfort. Assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs) is a priority for clients who are unable to perform these tasks independently.
b. Design a bulletin board to represent the current season. While this can help with orientation and provide a sense of time and place, it is not as critical as addressing the client's basic physical needs.
c. Present evidence of objective reality to improve cognition. Reality orientation can be beneficial, but it is not a priority intervention compared to meeting the client's immediate physical needs.
d. Label the door to the client's room with name and number. This helps with orientation and independence but is less critical than ensuring the client’s hygiene and toileting needs are met.

a. experience no loss of contact with reality. The key difference is reality testing. Clients with neurosis (anxiety disorders, OCD) generally maintain contact with reality, even though their thoughts or behaviours might be distressing. Clients with psychosis (schizophrenia) experience a break with reality, such as hallucinations or delusions.
b. Never have mood or personality changes. Not true. Mood and personality changes can occur in both neurosis and psychosis.
c. Have conflict but only use adaptive defence mechanisms to cope. Défense mechanisms are used by everyone to cope with anxiety, but in neurosis, they might be less healthy or maladaptive.
d. Are always aware that their behaviours are maladaptive. Not necessarily. Clients with neurosis might have limited insight into how their behaviours affect themselves or others.