Escape: A Study in Conversion Disorder

Abstract

Culture is thought to be key determinant of conversion disorder presentation, with culturally-normed social expectations being one possible influence, yet this is rarely studied. We present a case of a young woman from a cultural background where social expectations were strong, now living in Australia, who developed conversion disorder in the context of struggling against these expectations, and expressed this as a desire to escape. We discuss the aetiological role this desire may take in cases of conversion disorder, and what that tells us about conversion disorder in other cultural contexts.