PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS MAY NOT BE PURELY PSYCHOLOGICAL IN ORIGIN...

Psychiatry physicians, as a result of all the training they receive, learn to evaluate the patient in a holistic manner. Over time, their professional experience is enriched with the knowledge they gain from their patients.

Psychiatrists take a very broad perspective when assessing the causes of a patient’s psychiatric condition. For example, a psychiatry physician holistically considers whether the patient’s findings are psychological, secondary to difficult life experiences, or caused by another illness impairing physical health.

It is known that some psychiatric findings and disorders may arise not only from an individual’s psychological state but also from other disturbances related to general bodily health (either as a cause or as a consequence). For instance, thyroid diseases, brain disorders, certain tumoral formations such as brain tumors, rheumatological diseases, immunological diseases, cardiological disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, and many other systemic conditions may progress insidiously by producing findings similar to psychiatric symptoms.

Sometimes, psychiatric findings may appear as a result of the presence of such diseases. Certain symptoms of psychiatric disorders (such as fatigue, loss of appetite, palpitations, headaches, and back pain) may be harbingers of serious illnesses, or they may simply be signs of psychiatric disturbances. Specialists in other medical fields consulted for such complaints may, upon concluding that the findings are psychological, occasionally refer the patient to a psychiatrist. However, most of the time, they initiate psychiatric drug treatment themselves (usually antidepressants).

In fact, the correct approach is that when the medication prescribed by the consulted specialist (internal medicine, cardiology, dermatology, etc.) is recognized to be a psychiatric drug, the patient should seek the opinion of a psychiatrist, the specialist qualified to prescribe such medication. This will increase the effectiveness of treatment.

Once it has been determined that the findings related to organs (based on an organic cause) are purely psychological in origin, patients should consult psychiatrists for the subsequent stages of treatment.

Patients who do not benefit from antidepressants prescribed by non-psychiatric physicians often return to psychiatrists afterward, which leads to a loss of time. What must not be forgotten is that “There is no disease, only the patient.” Each individual is unique; not every antidepressant may be effective for every finding or every disorder.

The belief that psychiatrists will necessarily prescribe the same medications even if they evaluate psychology-based causes is incorrect, and this misconception stems from insufficient knowledge about the field of psychiatry.

Moreover, I see no need for an additional explanation regarding the fact that psychiatric medications should not be used solely based on the recommendations of non-psychiatric physicians, nor on the advice of acquaintances, neighbors, or relatives, since we all agree on this matter.