Terminal diseases

qwerty68 · Jul 05, 2024 at 03:39 PM

If mental illnesses are an actual disease, do you think that they can become terminal, like cancer and other diseases? If they can be terminal, how do we know they are and how can I handle it?

VabGirl · Jul 05, 2024 at 07:25 PM

Hard to answer that

qwerty68 · Jul 06, 2024 at 12:45 AM

It is true that it is difficult but I am coming up to 30 years of suffering without anything helping and it feels like it might be terminal. Something has changed and not for the good.

Well, no one can objectively test me for my diagnosis so it is probably pointless to pursue answers that do not exist.

Thank you for your time.

DocJohn · Jul 06, 2024 at 09:06 AM

Much about the causes and etiology of mental illness remains unknown, so there's no real data to answer your question as to whether any type of mental illness is "terminal." For some people with some disorders, it is likely they will live with a form of the disorder for their entire lives. With treatment (just like in medicine), that "living with" can still result in a good life.

Our understanding of mental illness is still in its infancy in many ways. It's a good question, but one where science doesn't yet have the answer to.

divine1966 · Jul 07, 2024 at 11:29 AM

Many mental illnesses or other types of disorders aren’t curable. But even not curable most are treatable as to make symptoms bearable or minimize them.

What do you mean by no one will test you for your diagnosis? Do you have a diagnosis and if yes how was it established?

qwerty68 · Jul 07, 2024 at 06:21 PM

I meant that there are no real tests to confirm a diagnosis, it is all subjective, including the diagnoses themselves.

It makes everything even more confused than I already am.

lizardlady · Jul 08, 2024 at 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocJohn

Much about the causes and etiology of mental illness remains unknown, so there's no real data to answer your question as to whether any type of mental illness is "terminal." For some people with some disorders, it is likely they will live with a form of the disorder for their entire lives. With treatment (just like in medicine), that "living with" can still result in a good life.

Our understanding of mental illness is still in its infancy in many ways. It's a good question, but one where science doesn't yet have the answer to.

Doc John, you remind me of a saying I heard in grad school. "Physics and chemistry are hard sciences. The life sciences are soft science. Psychology is the impossible science."

Your comment about living a good life while dealing with a mental illness is so true for me. I've been depressed most of my life, but after therapy and finding the right drug mix I've lead a good life.

DocJohn · Jul 08, 2024 at 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwerty68

I meant that there are no real tests to confirm a diagnosis, it is all subjective, including the diagnoses themselves.

It makes everything even more confused than I already am.

Just to be clear, although most people don't know this, most medical diagnoses don't have a specific lab test to confirm a medical diagnosis. It's a common misconception that medicine has tests for every disease. They don't.

What they do have is a constellation of symptoms, some of which can be measured through a lab test, and if you put all those together, it leads a physician to a handful of possible diagnoses. The whole TV show House MD was based around the more rare of these kinds of diagnoses.

So I would just say don't worry about the specific mechanics of diagnosing a mental disorder. What we do nowadays is really good enough in most cases to help people find an effective treatment that works for them.

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qwerty68 Veteran Member Member Since Jan 2016 Location: nowhere Posts: 564 8 418 hugs given	Jul 05, 2024 at 03:39 PM #1 If mental illnesses are an actual disease, do you think that they can become terminal, like cancer and other diseases? If they can be terminal, how do we know they are and how can I handle it? __________________ MDD with Psychotic Features, Dysthymia, GAD, Cluster C personality traits - Not taking any meds
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VabGirl Member Member Since Jul 2021 Location: virginia Posts: 323 3 35 hugs given	Jul 05, 2024 at 07:25 PM #2 Hard to answer that
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divine1966 Legendary Wise Elder Member Since Dec 2014 Location: US Posts: 22,894 (SuperPoster!) 9 1,295 hugs given	Jul 07, 2024 at 11:29 AM #5 Many mental illnesses or other types of disorders aren’t curable. But even not curable most are treatable as to make symptoms bearable or minimize them. What do you mean by no one will test you for your diagnosis? Do you have a diagnosis and if yes how was it established?
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qwerty68 Veteran Member Member Since Jan 2016 Location: nowhere Posts: 564 8 418 hugs given	Jul 07, 2024 at 06:21 PM #6 I meant that there are no real tests to confirm a diagnosis, it is all subjective, including the diagnoses themselves. It makes everything even more confused than I already am. __________________ MDD with Psychotic Features, Dysthymia, GAD, Cluster C personality traits - Not taking any meds
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