It's Difficult to Correctly Diagnose a Mental Illness

It took years and a few doctors before I was correctly diagnosed and treated. The trouble is, this happens to most people with severe mental illness.


It requires a knowledgable physician a lot of time and frequent follow-up to become familiar enough with a psychiatric patient to form an accurate diagnosis and develop effective treatments. Few general practitioners have this capacity, but many diagnose and prescribe for psychiatric conditions anyway.

Many mental illnesses share symptoms but not treatment, especially medication. The wrong call by the doctor can set a patient back years. And yet it happens all the time.

I posted an article about this with the International Bipolar Foundation. You can read it here.

If you don't feel your doctor is making a complete effort to understand your symptoms and their impact on your life, and if you don't think your doctor is getting to know you, find another doctor.


My book Resilience: Handling Anxiety in a Time of Crisis is available wherever books are sold.