mentally ill..so many categories

If a person is labeled mentally ill, what category does that person fall into? There are hordes of mental illness labels. Schizophrenia, bipolar, depression etc.. and many more...How do doctors know what type of mental illness someone has?

Sometimes they don't since a lot of symptoms of various mental disorders and conditions are simular so misdiagnoses can and does happen.

I would add;the doctors are trained to look for a certain set of symptoms.
Some symptoms can tell them right away, and some may not. The doctor may
try out different medications. Then tweek a little here and a little there, until they
find what works best for you.

here in america (USA) we have set diagnostic critera that tells them what type of mental illness the person has, these diagnostics are located in the america psychiatric associations book called The Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) At the present the diagnostics being used are in the TR IV edition. the new version will be out soon. you can keep up on any news about the new diagnostic criteria and DSM5 edition at http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx

but do you agree that some mental illnesses are undefined and extremely highly unique?

As someone who has been wrongly diagnosed with at least six things... I think sometimes they are just guessing.

I attended an excellent lecture by a psychiatrist invited to speak to a Depression Bipolar Support Alliance meeting. He said that an initial diagnosis should not be regarded as all that much more than a guess. That is how it is with things from the neck down to, often. A diagnosis is just provisional, until a decision is made that a different one may fit better.

I've been diagnosed and undiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder repeatedly.

That's gotta be pretty frustrating to say the least! I was initially diagnosed with depression and anxiety as a teen, then in college was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I have the symptoms of a lot of other mental illnesses too. If they drs don't know what you have, they can't do a very good job in treating you.

If it was seen as something that could and maybe should be changed later on as they get more facts I would be fine. It's bad when they think the last doc just couldn't be wrong so they try to just see what fits and sometimes make some stuff up. Not that all docs are like that but some really need to be more open minded.

unique..sure how each mental disorder affects a person can be vastly different...the diagnostics allow for that uniqueness by keeping the diagnostic criteria broad enough to allow a person to have other symptoms besides the diagnostics...

example DID a person with DID must have at least 2 or more categorical (the diagnostics use the word distinct) alternate personalities that control, have a special type of memory problem that goes beyond the normal type of memory problems and having these alternate personalities/memory problems isnt because of things like drugs and alcohol..

that leaves room for the uniqueness of someone who may have other symptoms too that.... not every person ....with DID has...anxiety, depression, nightmares, and other problems that may be unique...

..Undefined ..yes sometimes a person will have a problem that hasnt been labeled yet...All Im saying is that here in america treatment providers dont diagnose people with things that are not recognized mental disorders...treatment providers here in america have set rules/diagnostics they have to go by when diagnosing someone.

when they come across someone with symptoms that dont fit any mental disorders they look at other accompanying symptoms and match that person with the diagnosis that matches the majority of their symptoms.

any mental disorder thats not recognized (your word defined) by the american psychiatric association doesnt get put on the client...the treatment providers evaluate/test the individual then they match the persons symptoms with an already existing mental disorder..

this is one of the reasons why it can take years before someone gets the correct diagnosis...

example fibromyalgia wasnt a recognized problem here in america for a long time. it didnt exist, treatment providers could not diagnose something that didnt exist/wasnt defined. those that had this were diagnosed with other things that did exist/was defined like back aches, depression, leg aches, muscle spasms.. here in america its only been a few years that people have been getting the diagnosis label of fibromyalgia.

other countries may have other standards for diagnosing mental disorders america has set diagnostics and treatment providers go according to that.

I know its not a great system and because of it sometimes it takes years before someone gets the right diagnosis because their group of problems havent been defined yet so they get loppped in with diagnosis's that cover a majority of their symptoms not all of them.

They don't.

I'm not saying that to insult psychiatry or the people who work within that field, it's just a fact. Properly diagnosing any kind of mental illness is very difficult. It's a process of trial and error, it can take time and for some people quite a few experiences of being misdiagnosed before they and their psychiatrist get to the bottom of things. Psychiatry is still a field that has a lot of unknowns, there's no easy way to diagnose mental illness correctly yet.

There could be in short time, actually... Many mental health problems can be identified by brain scans.

Actually, scientists and doctors in both neurology and psychiatry agree that brain scans cannot be used to diagnose mental disorders, or even their risk of one.

I knew someone who worked in an inpatient mental health setting. He was not a professional, but was closely involved with patients. He said it was kind of a standing joke amongst some of the staff that pdocs really don't like to have to rethink things. He said the pdocs were always saying, "Let's see the old chart." (From, perhaps, a previous admission.) Like . . . they were more interested in knowing what the last pdoc said than in interviewing the patient and doing a fresh assessment.

That has happened to me, and I think it is a huge problem.

That's a very profound question. I have a question that I think relates. How do we know that a troubled person has a mental illness? It is getting to be so that anyone with chronic emotional turmoil is assumed to have a "brain illness." I question that, more and more. Even if the person does have a mental illness, there are other things that can complicate the course of it.

I think that what is "extremely highly unique" is the individual person . . . not their mental illness. Ten people can get the same diagnosis of Major Depression, yet each person's experience of that disorder may be very specific to that person's circumstances. Each of those ten people has to be looked at, in terms of their support network, coping mechanisms, maturity level, history of psychic trauma, income level, and on and on . .

A given individual can be having a much tougher time than most, coping with depression, or PTSD, or anything you can to name. I don't believe enough attention is brought to bear on all that is specific to a given individual's situation, which is not just the name of the diagnosed mental illness.

i believe it.

that has happened to me tons.

i never had a time where a psychiatrist reassessed me except maybe 1 time. when i was a teen.

but idk. i feel stuck with my dx. but then again its most likely true anyway.

Not by themselves ... yet.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...mental-illness

I think psychology is vastly different then your everyday physician that treats things like colds and flu. These things can be seen under a microscope. Psychology involves diving into someones head and soul. Surely it isnt an exact science and surely it isnt a simple one. I think its one of those areas that will constantly evolve and shift.

To be honest with you I think the sufferers understand it more than the doctors do. I also think that a DXed mental illness shouldnt be concrete because I think it changes or can even dissappear depending on the person and circumstances. I mean 4 years ago I only dealt with a panic disorder and anxiety attacks, 2 years later I land in the hospital with major depression with psychosis......the brain is complicated....

oh and i dont even know how he came up with the dx in the hospital.....I supposed the psychosis was pretty easy to come up with but I didnt understand where the depression came from......I was so out there that when anyone spoke to me I pretty much remained quiet and got an attitude when I got asked any kind of questions....when i was in his office i pretty much just sat there...and i had no emotion the entire time....

In a way... in my own crazy acceptance... I am kind of proud of being mentally ill.... This has helped me to climb back to reality a bit... and not be so scared. I had to do this in order to "fish & reel" my way back to normality It was not easy.... but I am what I am... and my struggles are very special to me.... and I am still reealing...

I agree with karol . . . about being kind of proud of what I've come through. I tend to think of myself as emotionally troubled, rather than mentally ill. It seems to me that anyone who could endure being alive and not be feel too troubled has got to be either very mature (which I really do admire), or pretty insensitive.

My maturing has never kept pace with my increasing sensitivity. Actually, it's gotten to where I am pretty ill.