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resource box is included with a live link to my site. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. ***********************************************************Title: DEPRESSION OR A MEDICAL CONDITION? Author: Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW E-mail: mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com Copyright: by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW Web Address: http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com Word Count: 528 Category: DEPRESSION
DEPRESSION OR A MEDICAL CONDITION?
Are you suffering from depression or a medical condition? Depression can be a symptom of an undiagnosed medical condition.
Decision trees are used in psychotherapy much like they are in other professions. At top of decision tree are always two items to rule out FIRST, before making a mental health diagnosis.
1. A general medical condition or
2. A chemical dependency
As a rule-of-thumb if it has been longer than 2 years since you have had a thorough medical examination it's time to call and schedule that appointment. Please, don't put it off until tomorrow, do it today (Are you hearing that gentlemen?) ;-)
When I speak of "thorough medical examination" I mean actual physical exam given by your family doctor and a full blood workup as well.
There are many diseases and medical issues that can cause depressive symptoms. Common ones include: AIDS, anemia, cancer, congestive heart failure, diabetes, infectious hepatitis, malnutrition, MS, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid conditions.
The order of this decision tree is very important. You don't want to treat what you think is a depression problem, if there's a medical condition going unnoticed, untreated and becoming worse.
Additionally, you will waste valuable time and money treating a secondary condition that may well disappear if you are treated for primary medical condition at beginning.
