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You can't blame parents for their child's depression. You can't expect even the most seasoned psychiatric worker to be able to diagnose depression from sight.

by cairo_x 10y ago

You can't blame parents for their child's depression. You can't expect even the most seasoned psychiatric worker to be able to diagnose depression from sight. Currently self-reporting is the only way to diagnose. Observation simply doesn't work. There was a great doco on the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fm5ql http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fm5ql) where they had a house full of people with various different mental illnesses, and trained psychiatric professionals watching on CCTV. Over the course of the show, not one of them made a correct diagnosis by observing behaviour. So how can parents be expected to pick up the signs?

mercer 10y ago
I'll have to watch the documentary to be sure, but I find it hard to believe this is true. Oftentimes, but definitely not always, it's surprising to me how easy it is to detect cases of childhood abuse, autism, bipolar disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder, based on very limited interaction. Obviously one is never sure, but very often the symptoms are 'textbook' enough that at the very least an informed guess can be made. I'm willing to say I'm entirely wrong about this though. It's just been my experience so far.
- cairo_x 10y ago
  I can understand being able to pick up on autism, and some personality disorders. Mood disorders -- unless there is obvious suicide or psychosis -- can be tricky though. Some people are just really energetic, and fit, and excitable. Some people act out their emotions more than others so it can seem more than it really is. Giving unsolicited diagnoses puts you at risk of being accused of being a 'gaslighter', etc. In many cases it's like if you see a really skinny person and are convinced they are anorexic... Some people are just skinny, just like many people put on weight alarmingly easy. And then there's malingering psychosis -- there's a horror film. I'm pretty sure I knew someone like this, but I could never say anything (I suspected they had BPD and were feigning psychosis.)

by cairo_x 10y ago

mercer 10y ago

I'll have to watch the documentary to be sure, but I find it hard to believe this is true. Oftentimes, but definitely not always, it's surprising to me how easy it is to detect cases of childhood abuse, autism, bipolar disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder, based on very limited interaction. Obviously one is never sure, but very often the symptoms are 'textbook' enough that at the very least an informed guess can be made. I'm willing to say I'm entirely wrong about this though. It's just been my experience so far.

cairo_x 10y ago
I can understand being able to pick up on autism, and some personality disorders. Mood disorders -- unless there is obvious suicide or psychosis -- can be tricky though. Some people are just really energetic, and fit, and excitable. Some people act out their emotions more than others so it can seem more than it really is. Giving unsolicited diagnoses puts you at risk of being accused of being a 'gaslighter', etc. In many cases it's like if you see a really skinny person and are convinced they are anorexic... Some people are just skinny, just like many people put on weight alarmingly easy. And then there's malingering psychosis -- there's a horror film. I'm pretty sure I knew someone like this, but I could never say anything (I suspected they had BPD and were feigning psychosis.)