What psychological condition is indicated by left arm paralysis in a 17-year-old girl after a traumatic event with no medical cause found?

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In this scenario, the patient's left arm paralysis following a traumatic event, with no evident medical explanation, points towards conversion disorder. Conversion disorder is characterized by neurological symptoms such as paralysis, which arise in response to psychological stress or trauma. In this case, the traumatic event likely acted as a trigger, leading to the physical manifestation of symptoms that cannot be attributed to any underlying medical condition.

The nature of conversion disorder includes an inconsistency in symptoms upon examination, along with the absence of organic causes, which can sometimes be demonstrated through neurology evaluations. Unlike somatization disorder, which involves multiple bodily symptoms affecting various organ systems without a clear medical cause, conversion disorder specifically manifests as one or more neurological deficits following a psychological trigger. This distinguishes it further from conditions like generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, which typically present with pervasive symptoms of anxiety or depression rather than isolated functional neurological impairments.

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