I normally do not write on the weekends but with this latest saga with Effexor I never know when the urge is going to hit so I better take advantage of it when it does show up. Yep that made a lot of sense. Anyway I have been spending a lot of time over at healthboards recently not actually participating but reading what others have written and I see a trend that is starting to reappear once again which is people trying to diagnose others with some variety of mental illness.
It is damn near impossible to diagnose someone from one post and to be quite honest it is a little bit irresponsible at the same time. Telling someone they may have a specific diagnosis may seem helpful but it also sends the person to doing mass research on the diagnosis and even if the label is wrong by the time they are done going through all of the material they will convince themselves it is a perfect fit. On a good/bad day I basically meet the standard for close to every diagnosis out there from the way the criteria is spelled out.
To get a proper diagnosis done it is essential that you do the following:
(A) Seek out a qualified mental health professional hopefully one that answers to the name doctor.
(B) Provide as much information as possible in order to get a clear diagnosis. The doctor is looking for long standing patterns which will help him/her match up the right diagnosis. There is no such thing as too much information.
(C) Ask questions. If you do not think the diagnosis is correct ask the doctor for a better explanation/clarification remember you are paying him for his service.
The proper diagnosis leads to a proper treatment plan which will hopefully put you back into the game. The wrong diagnosis leads to increase levels of anxiety which is never a good thing on any level. Take care.
Related posts:
- Dual Diagnosis Conflicts
- How to Get Your Depressed or Bipolar Child an Accurate Diagnosis – Article
- Mental Health Diagnosis
- How You Might React to a Depression Diagnosis – Article
- ADHD: Who makes the diagnosis?
- My Diagnosis is Killing Me! Article
- Binge eating recommended as a psychiatric diagnosis; obesity is not
- Getting the wrong diagnosis: bipolar vs. borderline – Radio
- Antidepressant Medication: Millions Prescribed Have No Psychiatric Diagnosis
- Thinking Out Loud
Thank you for posting this. I often worry about the same thing. That is one of the dangers of the Internet along with recommending medications. But, you know what? This goes on in the hospitals all the time…I tried to stay out of those conversations…felt like work and they just irritated me.