Mood Disorders: A Case Study

Mood disorders are the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses in the United States. Of those, Depression ranks the highest (Bower, n.d.). The rate of depression diagnoses and anti depressant usage amongst American’s, “…has risen nearly 400% since 1988, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” (Szalavitz, 2011). One of the principal reasons for this sharp incline is over-diagnosis by physicians. Any general physician can diagnose Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), without the proper psychological training to accurately do so. Lack of proper psychiatric training among primary care physicians is the root cause of over-diagnosis of major depressive disorder.

In order to accurately diagnose someone with Major

Although these tests are designed to help conclude diagnoses, they can point to an individual being depressed at any given point in someone’s life, regardless to whether or not they have the chemical imbalance that delineates depression. More than just a chemical imbalance of Serotonin, an individual with MDD has faulty nerve cell connections. One cell may be producing enough serotonin, but the receptive cell cannot receive enough to maintain chemical equilibrium (Harvard Medical School, n.d.). The testing available is subjective and should only be considered as a guide, which to most psychologists it is. In order to accurately determine proper diagnosis of a patient, these tests should be done multiple times with the patient, and should be accompanied with alternative solutions before prescribing antidepressants. A study done in 2005, utilized 23 general physicians to diagnose 906 patients using Zung’s scale for Depression, with Major Depressive Disorder. The test was performed to determine the percentage of patients who did not meet the criteria for MDD, and whether the physicians would still diagnose them as such. The results proved that, “The rate of diagnosis of depression in non-depressed patients was 26.5%...” and concluded that, “Family physicians classify as depressed those patients who do not have the formal

It is true; primary care physicians have extensive medical background. They have been thoroughly trained in the medical field and have a more complete understanding of illnesses, both biological and mental, than the general population. However, general care doctors do not have the extended training in the psychiatric field. They have not completed course upon course on mental illness, and cannot always see the signs, or understand the alternative solutions to properly diagnose a patient. While there are many tests available to help accurately diagnose depression, they are very basic. The criteria for these tests can be met by any individual during numerous periods in their life. These tests cannot determine whether someone has the chemical imbalance that causes major depressive disorder, and they should not be a sole reason to diagnose MDD or prescribe pharmaceuticals to patients. In the last few months, more conclusive blood tests have become available to help treat depression. While these tests are more accurate in diagnosis, they do not determine whether a patient has depression. They do determine, “an individual’s inclination to become depressed, if circumstances are right.” (Dr. A. Rubinstein, personal communication, October 22,