Psychiatric Diagnoses That Are Often Misdiagnosed

The Dr. Judy Show

Medical and psychiatric diagnoses can sometimes be made difficult by the many symptoms that can overlap for many diseases. All the media publicity and advertising that occurs tends to worsen that problem because they get you focused on their area of interest and it may distract you from other issues that are going on with you that may be even more important. Then there are things like Alzheimers, which has become the catch all term for almost anything that interferes with memory, focus, concentration and function. That should be the LAST diagnosis that is made after everything else is ruled out – because it is still untreatable - and yet too often it does not work that way. Jumping right to that diagnosis can interfere with finding some of those things that can be improved or even totally resolved. ADHD is another diagnosis people are quick to jump to, although those same behaviors may be brought on by a lot of different things, each of which may need to be addressed in a totally different way. To add to the confusion, the overlap between ‘mental’ and ‘medical’ is very high, so that medical things can cause mental symptoms and vice versa. In this program we will look at some of those more common areas where coming to the right diagnosis just isn’t as simple as it seems, and then tell you about some of the things you need to know and do to be a good partner with your doctor toward the common goal of getting the right diagnosis and right treatment for you and your loved ones.