DEPRESSION OR A MEDICAL PROBLEM?
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Title: DEPRESSION OR A MEDICAL CONDITION? Author: Dave
Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW E-mail:
mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com Copyright: by Dave
Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW Web Address:
http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com Word Count: 528 Category:
DEPRESSION
DEPRESSION OR A MEDICAL CONDITION?
Are you suffering from depression or a medical condition?
Depression can be a symptom of an undiagnosed medical condition.
Decision trees are used in psychotherapy much like they are in
other professions. At the top of the decision tree are always
two items to rule out FIRST, before making a mental health
diagnosis.
1. A general medical condition or
2. A chemical dependency
As a rule-of-thumb if it has been longer than 2 years since you
have had a thorough medical examination it's time to call and
schedule that appointment. Please, don't put it off until
tomorrow, do it today (Are you hearing that gentlemen?) ;-)
When I speak of "thorough medical examination" I mean the actual
physical exam given by your family doctor and a full blood
workup as well.
There are many diseases and medical issues that can cause
depressive symptoms. Common ones include: AIDS, anemia, cancer,
congestive heart failure, diabetes, infectious hepatitis,
malnutrition, MS, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid conditions.
The order of this decision tree is very important. You don't
want to treat what you think is a depression problem, if there's
a medical condition going unnoticed, untreated and becoming
worse.
Additionally, you will waste valuable time and money treating a
secondary condition that may well disappear if you are treated
for the primary medical condition at the beginning.
I'm a psychotherapist, and NO, I'm not trying to chase off
business! I am, however, interested in you getting better.
I speculate that the growing trend in "atypical depression," or
untreatable depression, lies partly in untreated health
problems. And, in particular, malnutrition. Did you know that
one study showed that 80% of Americans suffer from malnutrition?
Hard to believe? The new field of Metabolic Typing has shed
tremendous light on this subject, and you may have heard it
referred to as "Syndrome X."
There are times when it's not this simple. You may be convinced
you have a medical problem, but all the tests come back
negative. In that case, your best bet is to treat the depression
and become your own information sleuth and/or seek a second
opinion. Modern medicine continues to make tremendous leaps
forward, but it is not perfect.
Also be aware that you may simply have depression and are
struggling with acceptance. Many people wrestle with the fact
that there is no concrete test, like a blood test, that you can
get to verify if depression is, with certainty, the culprit.
That's very understandable, but don't allow it to get in the way
of receiving proper help. You and those you love do not need to
suffer needlessly.
Another complex situation involves when you may need to be
treated for both a medical condition and a depression condition.
Even then, a doctor should first treat your medical condition
and monitor the depression to see if it subsides with the
treatment you're receiving. The doctor can always recommend an
antidepressant and psychotherapy as needed. The only exception
to this rule is if you have severe depression and are in danger
of suicide. Then you may require immediate hospitalization for
the purpose of emotion stabilization.
All my best in your recovery efforts!