Depressed? Psychotic? The culprit could be a physical condition

Imagine believing you suffer from depression, only to find out it’s actually a side effect of your blood pressure pills. Or thinking you have anxiety, when what you really have is a thyroid condition.

According to Harvard psychiatrist Barbara Schildkrout, there are more than 100 medical disorders that can be mistaken for psychological conditions. She tells The Wall Street Journal that even experienced clinicians can have a hard time determining when one causes the other, and since busy primary-care doctors and psychiatrists spend so little time with patients, the risk of misdiagnosis is all the greater.

With her new book, titled Unmasking Psychological Symptoms, Dr. Schildkrout hopes to help clear up some of the confusion.

The Wall Street Journal notes that studies have shown as many as 25 per cent of psychiatric patients may actually suffer from physical conditions.

What seems like depression, for example, may actually be sign of an under-active thyroid, Lyme disease, lupus, diabetes, a deficiency of vitamin D or B-12, or a host of other medical conditions.

Hallucinations may be an indicator of epilepsy, fever or a brain tumor, while psychosis could be a result of venereal disease, brain tumors and cysts, or stroke.

Substance abuse and the side effects of many medications could also be the real culprits of certain psychiatric symptoms.

While some underlying medical conditions are treatable, The Wall Street Journal notes that others, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, are not.

And in some cases, patients could require both psychiatric and medical treatment. Regardless, finding the proper diagnosis could alleviate a lot of frustration.

Are psychiatric side effects of physical conditions more common than we think?

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Help me:What is a doctor who treats autism called? | Autism ...

Families from across Alabama took part in a weekend of sharing and recreation at Camp ASCCA. Parents, siblings and children with autism all came together for climbing, zipline, horseback, fishing, splash pad and much more at ASCCA this weekend. The weekend offers parents a chance to learn from each other’s shared experiences. It also offers a great chance for the family to see their child/sibling in a unique atmosphere that allows the camper to excel in recreation activities probably unavailable elsewhere.

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Autism is NOT diagnosed by an occupational therapist. However, an occupational therapist may be part of a team that diagnoses it. Autism involves impairments in language and socialization, as well as more stereotyped interests, behaviors, and routines or rituals. Some of those more stereotyped behaviors are often rooted in sensory processing difficulties and an occupational therapist would look at that aspect of it. An occupational therapist would also provide services to address sensory and fine motor needs. However a specialist in behavior (psychiatrist, psychologist, etc.) should look at and work with socialization and a speech language pathologist should look at and work with language. Public schools often have teams like that who do those evaluations for free and provide those services. So do many hospitals. However, autism is also often diagnosed by doctors, psychiatrists, or psychologists by themselves. Any team or individual practitioner’s ability to diagnose autism is only as good as their training beyond what is given in the classroom (which is very little on autism). Always ask any practitioner what their expertise with autism is. Any practitioner who has the expertise to diagnose autism will also make quality recomendations. If your child has autism, find a good occupational therapist, speech pathologist, and psychologist who can work together as a team to provide services.

A psychiatrist. I’m an adult with Asperger syndrome and my doctor is a neuropsychiatrist; he trained in neurology, then later trained in psychiatry, and has an interest in where the two overlap. A psychiatrist more than a neurologist would treat autism or asperger syndrome, but they would have to have a specific knowledge of it (not all do especially adult psychiatrists). Children can be treated by psychiatrists or paediatricians.


Twitter

Iviana-kia Cooper no what you need is a psychiatrist lol


shinta djiwatampu expertise in pregnant worry daughter!@ @ iya in Indo:) But now she is a psychiatrist which is probably what I need!


Dian McManus @ iya in Indo:) But now she is a psychiatrist which is probably what I need! A psychiatric therapy LOL!!


The Office C: Do u know what the ideal placement of a two-hole punch is? I just googled it and it didn't help. G: I'm gonna get u a psychiatrist


KingTut aka Pharaoh What I mean by is in the sense of a psychiatrist help. I know there is Therapy in Music. Maybe I just need a break.


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