Mental illnesses discusion board 2
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University of Miami *
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Course
210
Subject
Medicine
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by ElderMoonJaguar43
Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety (anxiety being the most common I the U.S.) often appear when a patient is medically ill. Unfortunately, while science and healthcare have extended our lifespan, the longer lifespan in patients with chronic diseases leaves them more vulnerable to depression and anxiety. Being diagnosed with a disease such as cancer or any number of life threatening disease will often cause a person to make very large changes in they way that they live. These changes disrupt a patient’s routine which could lead to feelings of depression and anxiety due to an uncertainty of when their life will return to the normality that they were accustomed.
Mental illnesses are often overlooked in patients that are medically ill, the reason being that many times symptoms of a mental illness can be confused for that of a physical illness. An example of this would be a loss of appetite which can be caused by chronic liver disease or COPD. Another would be the side effects some medications used to treat a chronic disease may have. Many if not most medical doctors are more concerned with the physical well being of a patient and will then overlook or discount symptoms of mental illnesses. Correct diagnosis of a mental illness is crucial as any level of depression can
cause a person to forgo medical treatment. As with a physical illness, the sooner a mental illness is correctly diagnosed the sooner a patient can begin treatment. The treatments themselves however don’t come without any risk. An antidepressant may aggravate a patient’s condition. The possibility of drug interactions must also be considered. In conclusion mental illnesses, while common in patients with medical illnesses, are often overlooked. About one third of patients that develop a mental illness due to a physical illness are not treated. The medical professionals must be
more vigilant in recognizing the symptoms of mental illness if we are to treat all patients that develop a mental illness due to the stressors of their physical illness. 1.
Kelly, J. T. (2000, February). Emotional dimensions of chronic disease. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from western journal of medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070773/
2.
S. K. Rivelli , M.D. • K. G. Shirey , M.D. (2014) Department of Medicine , Duke University Medical Center, Duke University , Durham ,NC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Duke Global Health Institute , Durham , NC from P. Summergrad and R.G. Kathol (eds.), Integrated Care in Psychiatry: Redefining the Role 5 of Mental Health Professionals in the Medical Setting, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-0688-8_2, © Springer Science + Business Media New York 2014
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