Mental problems can be resolved, and thankfully so.
Unfortunately, psychiatrists will most often tell you that your emotional problems are incurable and that you must take their drugs such as antidepressants to manage those problems, often for the rest of your life. They are unlikely to tell you of non-drug alternatives, or they may try to convince you that these treatments don’t work.
According to top experts, however, the majority of people have mental problems are actually suffering from nonpsychiatric disease which is causing emotional stress. Yet psychiatrists frequently do not conduct through medical examinations to rule out if an untreated medical condition may be causing depression.
The first step you can take is a “differentia diagnosis,” where the doctor obtains a thorough medical history and conducts a complete physical exam. In this way he or she can rule out all problems that may cause a set of symptoms. For example, abnormal thyroid (gland that produces hormones) function may dramatically affect mood and cause severe depression and fatigue.
For many medical experts, the differential diagnosis is a must. According to Mary Ann Block, author of Just Because You Are Depressed Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression, “If a doctor does not have the time or does not know how to rule out various conditions, the patient should be referred to someone who can do these things. Above all, however, the temptation to rely on a simple psychiatric diagnosis must be rejected.”
It can be disastrous not to perform a differential diagnosis on someone who is experiencing emotional problems.
Take for example 15-year-old Michelle, who was prescribed an antidepressant. She dropped weight, began self-mutilating and attempted suicide.