How are Mental Illness Disorders Diagnosed?

What is Mental Illness

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these).  Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities (Parekh, PhD. 2015).  Most importantly, mental illness is treatable and the majority of people diagnosed with a mental disorder can effectively function in their daily activities when appropriate treatment is applied.  Examples of serious mental illness include major depressive disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Signs & Symptoms of Detecting a Mental Illness

Signs and symptoms of mental illness can vary, depending on the disorder, circumstances and other factors.  Mental illness symptoms can affect emotions, thoughts and behaviors (www.mayoclinic.org).  Examples of signs and symptoms include:

• Feeling sad or down
• Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate
• Excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt
• Extreme mood changes of highs and lows
• Withdrawal from friends and activities
• Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping
• Detachment from reality (delusions), paranoia or hallucinations
• Inability to cope with daily problems or stress
• Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Major changes in eating habits
• Sex drive changes
• Excessive anger, hostility or violence
• Suicidal thinking

Getting a Diagnosis
Unlike other diseases like diabetes or cancer, there is no medical test that can provide a diagnosis of mental illness.  Determining which disorder is causing a person's symptoms may be quite involved, however, it is extremely important to take the time to properly diagnose a mental disorder so appropriate treatment can be applied.  To determine a mental illness diagnosis, several events are likely to occur:

Step 1-Physical Exam

TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR

A physical exam given by your health care professional.  A physical evaluation can rule out any underlying medical conditions that may be causing the reported symptoms.  Lab tests may also be performed to check proper thyroid function, hormone imbalances, or presence of drugs and/or alcohol.  Once the other medical conditions are ruled out, the next step is to see a mental health professional.

Step 2-Psychological Exam
A psychological exam given by your doctor or mental health provider, where a series of questions will be asked to help describe your symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns.  Your mental health professional will use what is called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition to make a diagnosis of which disorder you may have.

       How to Determine Which Mental Disorder

Mental illness refers collectively to more than 200 diagnosable disorders.  The DSM-5, published by the American Psychiatric Association, lists criteria including feelings, symptoms and behaviors over a period of time that a person must meet in order to be officially diagnosed with an illness (www.nami.org)  "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-often referred to as the DSM-is the diagnostic bible for mental health professionals" (Lane, PhD. C.).

Navigating the DSM-5 Manual
The primary purpose of the DSM-5 is to assist trained clinicans in the diagnosis of their patients' mental disorders that leads to a comprehensive treatment plan for each individual.  The symptoms contained in the diagnostic criteria sets are intended to summarize characteristics of signs and symptoms that provide a guide to determine an underlying disorder.  There are three sections that comprise the DSM-5.  The primary goals for the manual's new framework are to help clinicians make more accurate and consistent diagnoses, and to help researchers better study how disorders relate to one another.  In turn, this leads to better treatment for patients (www.psychiatry.org).  The DSM- is divided into three sections.

1. Introduction and instructions on how to use the new version
2. Diagnostic categories
3. Conditions that need additional research, a glossary of terms, and other important information.

Complete Listing of DSM-5 chapters:

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders
• Bipolar and Related Disorders
• Depressive Disorders
• Anxiety Disorders
• Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
• Trauma-and Stressor-Related
• Dissociative Disorders
• Somatic Symptom Disorders                 
• Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Elimination Disorders
• Sleep-Wake Disorders
• Sexual Dysfunctions
• Gender Dysphoria
• Disruptive, Impulse control and conduct Disorders
• Substance Use and Addictive Disorders
• Neurocognitive Disorders
•  Personality disorders
•  Paraphilic Disorders
• Other Disorders

Treatment & Support

Once a mental disorder is appropriately diagnosed, an effective treatment plan will be put into place by your medical professional treatment team that may consist of your primary care doctor, nurses, pharmacist and therapist.  The treatment you receive will depend on the type of disorder diagnosed, the severity of the disorder, and the what works best for you.  In many cases, a combination of several treatments produce the best outcomes for improving mental health.

Parekh, PhD. R. 2015. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/basics/symptoms/con-20033813

https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Living-with-a-Mental-Health-Condition/Understanding-Your-Diagnosis

https://www.psychiatry.org

Lane, PhD. C. http://www.psyweb.com/content/main-pages/dsm-5-fifth-edition-of-the-diagnostic-and-statistical-manual-of-mental-disorders