Mind over matter The opposite of somatic symptom disorder are instances in which people “ignore” pain or other physical symptoms. Here a London performance artist smiles comfortably while her skin is pierced with sharp hooks that help suspend her from the ceiling above. Her action was part of a protest to end shark finning—the practice of cutting off a shark’s fin and throwing its still-living body back into the sea so that the fin can be used in the production of shark fin soup (a food delicacy) and other goods.