Let me first start out by saying that I am not "against" antidepressants, I am against doctors prescribing them too quickly.
In order to cure your depression , a doctor needs to first rule out other medical conditions.
When you go to your primary care doctor and complain of tiredness, not feeling yourself, aches and pains, no energy and other common symptoms of depression, ruling out an existing medical problem should be first on the doctor's list.
Everyone is different. Our individual pain thresholds are unique. A common cold can be an excuse for one person to stay home from work whereas another person could be walking around with a serious case of pneumonia without complaining much about it.
Even if you tell your doctor your symptoms, doctors are only human. They can misdiagnose. Primary care physicians often prescribe an antidepressant when a patient presents with what they feel are obvious symptoms of depression.
If you throw in that you have been having some personal obstacles in your life such as financial stress, the doctor will probably think that all the stress has caused you to be suffering from depression and may not look any further.
Coincidentally, you may have stress from obstacles in your personal life and also a serious medical condition brewing whose symptoms may mirror those of depression.
Recently, this happened to someone I know. She now is battling cancer. Although she declined taking an antidepressant when first diagnosed, her condition worsened because the doctor was not treating her for any other ailment.
Another "band-aid" was given to deal with her "aches and pains". Pain medication. Although she only was using it to try and get some sleep, the true source of her pain was not being investigated.
Hopefully it isn't too late to cure her. It is a frightening outcome to what can happen to a person who is not a complainer, who pushes on even though they are not feeling right and is having a tough time dealing with the every day pressures of life like many of us are.
How many of us have worries about our personal finances in this tough economy? How many of us deal with normal issues like aging parents, rebellious teenagers, adult children who are going through a hard time or cars that keep breaking down?
It is called life. Diagnosing mental illness is tough. It can take many sessions with a trained mental health professional in order to properly diagnose someone. The person who is suffering just wants relief.
Primary care doctors can help someone who is truly depressed by starting them off on an antidepressant and pointing the way to a psychiatrist who can better determine the depth of their illness. A primary care doctor should practice what they know.
Ruling out all other medical reasons why a patient is presenting with the symptoms that they are complaining about is the first thing that they should be doing.
I have had several primary care physicians who have helped me when I went through my own personal battle with depression. They helped me until I could see someone more qualified. Fortunately for me, they also investigated to make sure that depression was my only medical issue.
Antidepressants should never be seen as a magic pill to fix what is wrong. Even if you are only suffering from depression, antidepressants are only a part of the treatment.
Too many doctors don't look for the reasons why a patient has a complaint. They are too quick to put a "band-aid" on it and fail to investigate why a patient is "sick".
Mental illness treatment may involve medication but it also involves therapy. Treatment is never as simple as taking a pill.
The point of this post is that we need to learn how to listen to our own bodies. Doctors are only human after all and they make mistakes. Make yourself knowledgeable and ASK questions. It is your body and your life.
In order to cure your depression , a doctor needs to first rule out other medical conditions.
When you go to your primary care doctor and complain of tiredness, not feeling yourself, aches and pains, no energy and other common symptoms of depression, ruling out an existing medical problem should be first on the doctor's list.
Everyone is different. Our individual pain thresholds are unique. A common cold can be an excuse for one person to stay home from work whereas another person could be walking around with a serious case of pneumonia without complaining much about it.
Even if you tell your doctor your symptoms, doctors are only human. They can misdiagnose. Primary care physicians often prescribe an antidepressant when a patient presents with what they feel are obvious symptoms of depression.
If you throw in that you have been having some personal obstacles in your life such as financial stress, the doctor will probably think that all the stress has caused you to be suffering from depression and may not look any further.
Coincidentally, you may have stress from obstacles in your personal life and also a serious medical condition brewing whose symptoms may mirror those of depression.
Recently, this happened to someone I know. She now is battling cancer. Although she declined taking an antidepressant when first diagnosed, her condition worsened because the doctor was not treating her for any other ailment.
Another "band-aid" was given to deal with her "aches and pains". Pain medication. Although she only was using it to try and get some sleep, the true source of her pain was not being investigated.
Hopefully it isn't too late to cure her. It is a frightening outcome to what can happen to a person who is not a complainer, who pushes on even though they are not feeling right and is having a tough time dealing with the every day pressures of life like many of us are.
How many of us have worries about our personal finances in this tough economy? How many of us deal with normal issues like aging parents, rebellious teenagers, adult children who are going through a hard time or cars that keep breaking down?
It is called life. Diagnosing mental illness is tough. It can take many sessions with a trained mental health professional in order to properly diagnose someone. The person who is suffering just wants relief.
Primary care doctors can help someone who is truly depressed by starting them off on an antidepressant and pointing the way to a psychiatrist who can better determine the depth of their illness. A primary care doctor should practice what they know.
Ruling out all other medical reasons why a patient is presenting with the symptoms that they are complaining about is the first thing that they should be doing.
I have had several primary care physicians who have helped me when I went through my own personal battle with depression. They helped me until I could see someone more qualified. Fortunately for me, they also investigated to make sure that depression was my only medical issue.
Antidepressants should never be seen as a magic pill to fix what is wrong. Even if you are only suffering from depression, antidepressants are only a part of the treatment.
Too many doctors don't look for the reasons why a patient has a complaint. They are too quick to put a "band-aid" on it and fail to investigate why a patient is "sick".
Mental illness treatment may involve medication but it also involves therapy. Treatment is never as simple as taking a pill.
The point of this post is that we need to learn how to listen to our own bodies. Doctors are only human after all and they make mistakes. Make yourself knowledgeable and ASK questions. It is your body and your life.
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