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Ben Stanford's Suicide--Bipolar Often Diagnosed as Depression
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by Michelle Says So | November 16, 2007 at 11:18 pm
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I am absolutely making no assumptions about the state of mind 17-year old Alabama teen Ben Stanford was in when he decided to take his own life. However, I do have education and background in this field of expertise. If you read my previous article on Ben and his suicide you'll remember I had a suicide in my immediately family a year ago. I know the hurt...the questions...the whys?...the 'what could I have done?'...'I should have done this...'
Let's assume that Ben had been to a therapist or counselor at some point. There is a strong possibility that the doctor or prescribing physician could have diagnosed him with "depression", given him zoloft or paxil and sent him on his way.
This is where I think negligence by the doctors come into play.
In a majority of cases of suicide, the person has a greater chance than normal to have bipolar disorder. In order to diagnose bipolar disorder, a doctor must conduct an extensive social background and personality assessment to see if that person shows manic episodes ALONG with depressive episodes.
You can't take a blood test or get an MRI to find out. One must be cognitive of their behaviors...along with friends and family.
Now let's just assume if Ben did see a psychiatrist or doctor he was misdiagnosed with "depression" and was only given an anti-depressant. (which is also dangerous in children under the age of 18 without close monitoring.) Someone with bipolar only taking anti-depressants can be lethal. Not only an anti-depressant should be taken but a mood stabilizer as well. And of course, under close supervision due to side effects from certain drugs. Not everyone's brain is identical. It may take some time to find the right "combination".
Suicide is a very complicated area of the human mind. Mental illness is coming accepted more in society, people are somewhat becoming more knowledgeable about these disorders, and more people are seeking treatment. But NOT ENOUGH.
I believe our trusted doctors are the ones that need to take "refresher" courses. This is a whole new age of medicine.
It's not always simple "teen angst" or rebellion. Sometimes there are many mitigating factors that adults dismiss as normal teenage behavior...and then sometimes, it's too late.
I wonder what could have been done to prevent this tragedy. I think it's important for the public to become more knowledgable and less judgmental and ignorant to this epidemic.
Face it...everyone knows someone in their family or even themselves that suffer from these different conditions. The good news? They can be prevented and controlled with KNOWLEDGE.
Thursday, Nov. 1 (Psych Central)--UK Researchers believe as many as 1 in 4 people diagnosed in primary care with major depressive disorder may actually have bipolar disorder. In a new study, scientists administered bipolar assessments to nearly 800 patients receiving care for depression. Remarkably, 24 percent of the patients reported a previous episode of mania or mild mania suggesting that they may actually have bipolar disorder rather than depression.Bipolar disorder is a serious and chronic psychiatric illness, associated with high risk of suicide and other disorders. It is characterized by both manic and depressive episodes.
Evidence shows that misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder is common, and that the diagnosis is made, on average, as many as 10 years after the onset of symptoms. The most common misdiagnosis is with unipolar depression, which is characterized by depressed mood without manic episodes.
The aims of this study were to determine the proportion of patients who are diagnosed with unipolar depression in primary care, but who actually have bipolar disorder and may be receiving inappropriate and harmful treatment. Evidence shows that some antidepressants can induce mania.
The cross-sectional survey of primary care patients is being conducted at the Neasham Road surgery in Darlington in the UK. Those patients with existing bipolar disorder were excluded from the study.
790 patients who had a diagnosis of unipolar depression using primary care diagnostic methods were included in the study.
The researchers used 3 questionnaires:
* the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, designed to measure the rate of bipolar disorder in the target group
* the Work and Social Adjustment Scale, designed to measure and compare social functioning deficits between unipolar and bipolar patients
* the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, designed to measure and compare cognitive impairment between the 2 groups.
Evidence suggests that psychosocial and neurocognitive impairment may be more pronounced in patients with bipolar disorder.
278 questionnaires were returned. Of these, 24 percent were found to have had a previous episode of mania or mild mania. The researchers are currently in the process of making a clinical diagnosis of these patients.
Subsequent interviews and analysis will provide information about the prevalence of bipolar disorder in patients diagnosed with depression, and about the occupational and neuropsychiatric impact of this disorder compared with major depressive disorder.
Source: Royal College of Psychiatrists’
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Michelle Says So
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 02:57 on June 21st, 2008
Depression only man makes unhealthy. So we must come out from it.
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