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Medical Forum / General / General / July 2005Mental illnesses
When is an illness a mental illness? Exactly how are mental illnesses different than physical illnesses? What causes mental illnesses? Thank you in advance for all replies.  SignatureMy cat really loves me. When it is cold at night he lies right up against me in the bed to help keep me warm. > When is an illness a mental illness? Exactly how are mental > illnesses different than physical illnesses? What causes mental > illnesses? Thank you in advance for all replies. Daniel, I am not a doctor or medical expert. I have been conducting some research related to depression since I suffer from it. If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental illness. Some of the signs of depression are: Loss of interest in life Listlessness and fatigue Insomnia Social Isolation Loss of sex drive intense guilt feelings Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. >If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental >health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental >illness. But how will they tell if I have a mental illness? Is the method they use scientific and objective? SignatureMy cat really loves me. When it is cold at night he lies right up against me in the bed to help keep me warm. > >If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental > >health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental > >illness. > > But how will they tell if I have a mental illness? Is the method > they use scientific and objective? In most cases, they would interview you and have you take some special tests. I once took a course related to this subjects and actually learned about 20 different psychological illnesses and how to identify which mental problem that a patient might have. Psychologists and psychiatrists had to take dozens more courses on this subject than I had to take so that they could easily determine if a person had a mental illness and the exact type of mental illness that they have. They probably now have even better tests to use than I learned how to use when I took the course. Lots of people have mental illnesses and are not even aware of it. As a result of the course, I was able to easily identify signs of various mental illnesses among various fellow employees. I learned the hard way to keep my opinions to myself since people would become offended when I told them they had a mental problem. They now have medications such as Prozac to treat depression but you should learn about the side effects before you take it. They also have medications to treat most types of mental illnesses. A psychologist is not allowed to prescribe medications so you would have to see a psychiatrist if you think that you might need medication to treat your problem. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor. You asked if the method they use is scientific and objective. It's not as scientific and objective as some fields of medicine such as oncology. However, it's the only system that we now have and it usually works well. I advise you to do research on any medication that a doctor prescribes for you. This means that you will be able to quickly identify any side effects. If you have a side effect, stop taking the medication until you can talk to your doctor. I hope this helps. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. >> >If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental >> >health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >In most cases, they would interview you and have you take some special >tests. What tests are these and how do they determine if someone has depression or any other mental illness? Have these tests been proven to distinguish between people who are fatigued because they are depressed and people who are fatigued because they have a physical illness? SignatureMy cat really loves me. When it is cold at night he lies right up against me in the bed to help keep me warm. Most of the time, you are diagnosed with a mental illness when a medical doctor or psychologist interviews you, observes your behavior, and from the information so gathered matches up your clinical picture with those described in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV). Each mental illness is listed in the DSM-IV as having certain criteria. If you fit enough of the criteria, then you have the illness. So, dude, you got a problem with that? :-) > >> >If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental > >> >health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > are depressed and people who are fatigued because they have a > physical illness? Hello, The only one that I remember was the MMPI. I suggest that you do a google search on psychological tests and depression. I also suggest that you ask your doctor to refer you to a psychiatrist. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. >> >> >If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental >> >> >health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >search on psychological tests and depression. I also suggest that you ask >your doctor to refer you to a psychiatrist. What I have read about the MMPI is that its depression scale is really a fatigue scale and that anyone who has fatigue from ANY cause will score high for depression. I believe that there are NO psychological tests that can tell the difference between a person who is fatigued because of depression and one who is fatigued because of a physical illness. SignatureMy cat really loves me. When it is cold at night he lies right up against me in the bed to help keep me warm. > I believe that there are NO > psychological tests that can tell the difference between a person > who is fatigued because of depression and one who is fatigued > because of a physical illness. Ah, why didn't you say that in the first place? The way to tell whether a person is depressed is to ask him. If he says he's not depressed, then he probably isn't. I take it you're not depressed. :-) > >> >> >If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental > >> >> >health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > who is fatigued because of depression and one who is fatigued > because of a physical illness. Hello, The MMPI has a high degree of reliability. It has been used for lots of years by police departments and fire departments to screen out new recruits that have serious mental problems. If the test shows that you are depressed (regardless of the cause), it means you have depression. They probably have newer tests that may work even better. A psychiatrist can help you determine the cause of the depression. The MMPI will just prove that you are or are not suffering from depression. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. >>If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental >>health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental >>illness. > > But how will they tell if I have a mental illness? Is the method > they use scientific and objective? A mental illness has to do with thinking. For Depression, e.g. suicidal thoughts; for Bi-Polar, e.g. "I am great"; for Schizophrenia, e.g. TV talking to you. Physical illness is "non-thinking" disease. > >>If you have a session with a psychologist or other mental > >>health professional--he or she will tell you if you have a mental [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Physical illness is "non-thinking" disease. Dan, The MMPI will also help you and the mental health professional to determine if you have depression and various other mental problems. I recently talked with someone that was Bi-Polar. For many years, various mental health experts had told him that he was suffering from clinical depression--the most serious type of depression. One very intelligent mental health professional eventually figured out that he was Bi-Polar. I believe that the MMPI or other special test helped the mental health professional to finally figure out his true problem. I forgot to ask him which special test was used by the mental health professional. That's an example of why such tests are important. I hope that you get the help you need. Some mental health professionals do even use any special tests. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. "Daniel Prince" asked: > When is an illness a mental illness? Exactly how are mental > illnesses different than physical illnesses? What causes mental > illnesses? Thank you in advance for all replies. Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_illness (prevalence and diagnosis), and then there's http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1xynx7t92lbuo?tname=mental-illnes s-alphabetical-list&method=6&sbid=lc04a, http://www.seorf.ohiou.edu/~xx091/causes.html, http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/mental_illness/causes.htm and http://my.webmd.com/content/article/60/67140.htm?z=2950_00000_0000_rl_02 Lots more to read at http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=mental+illness&btnG=Google+Search&meta= Knowing cats as I do, they don't give a toss whether you are warm or not, they just like being warm. >When is an illness a mental illness? Exactly how are mental >illnesses different than physical illnesses? What causes mental >illnesses? Thank you in advance for all replies. ha ha! Answer any one of those questions definitively and you would immediately become a major historical figure cited in textbooks for generations to come. Somehow I'm skeptical I'll be witnessing this event her on sci.med. |
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