Posted by spike4848 on December 21, 2001, at 23:40:37
In reply to Disease vs. Disorder - Elizabeth/Cam/anyone?, posted by Alan on December 21, 2001, at 23:10:03
Dear Alan,
This is just one humble doctor's opinion. The DSM IV is a matter of politics. In medicine, us doctors love a list of criteria to label a patient with a diagnosis. That was the reason behind the DSM IV, to give a list a criteria to precisely diagnosis a patient with a disease. Unforunately, people do not fit convinently into separate, narrow diagnosis. People can have features of depression and anxiety and schizophrenia. I have said this in the past, but diagnotic labels are for doctors ... not patients. Don't get bogged down in labels. The goal is to get better .... 100% better ... no symptoms. If it takes an a combination of medications, so be it.
Psychiatric illnesses are rooted in biological disturbances. Just like diabetes and hypertension, psychiatric illness is biologic as well. There are hundreds of studies to prove that patients with psychiatric illness have hormonal abnormalities and brain structure changes. Unforunately, our knowledge of the brain is limited .... we know of about 12 neurotranmiters in the brain when their is approximately 200 total. It is easy for some people to simply attribute mental illness as a character flaw or personality problem. People do this out of fear, because deep inside they know if mental illness is biologic they are susceptable to depression/anxiety/schizophrenia like everyone else.
Summary (1) psychiatry illness is biologic (2) don't get bogged down in labels, just find the medication that works for you (3) know every day we are getting closer to solving mental illness puzzle
Spike
poster:spike4848
thread:87644
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011213/msgs/87645.html