Generally speaking, in order to be diagnosed with a mental disorder, the psychological symptoms that you are suffering from need to fall into the definition of something specific. For example, someone with wild mood swings might be bipolar or schizophrenic, depending on the other symptoms that they display. But when someone has several different symptoms that don’t fall into the pattern of any known disorder, they are harder to diagnose.
The DSM-5 changes that for at least one specific subset of patients in this situation by creating a new disorder: psychological factors affecting other medical conditions.
Requirements for Diagnosis
In order for you to be diagnosed with this new condition, there are several requirements that you need to meet.
- You need to have another medical condition or symptom that is not a mental disorder.
- Your psychological symptoms or behaviors have to negatively impact that medical issue in one of several specific ways:
- They have made the medical condition worse, aided in its development, or caused your recovery to take more time.
- They have interfered with the treatment of your medical condition.
- The symptoms or behaviors are known by the medical community to cause health risks above and beyond those that you suffer due to the medical condition.
- The symptoms or behaviors can require you to seek medical help or may exacerbate or precipitate symptoms.
- The symptoms and behaviors that you engage in aren’t able to be better explained by a separate, specific mental issue, such as a major depressive condition, panic disorder, or PTSD.
After a doctor determines that you fit the requirements listed above, they will then look at the severity of your issue. Those deemed Mild are said to have an increased medical risk and their adherence to treatment may suffer. Moderate severity means that your mental issue may actually aggravate your medical problem. People listed as Severe may end up going to the hospital or emergency room because of problems related to their psychological condition. And finally, Extreme severity means that your mental condition can actually threaten your life.
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If you are suffering from seemingly random psychological problems and also have a separate medical condition, you owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can about long term disability laws and see if you can receive benefits to alleviate your burden. Talk to an experienced long term disability attorney and read our free eBook for more information.
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