MHM Magazine

questions that can be used to elicit information about mental wellness: • Has a patient felt depressed, sad, or hopeless recently, and if so, how often? • Has the person had thoughts of suicide or self-harm? • Are there any significant stressors in their lives? • Has the person lost interest in activities they once enjoyed? • Is the person having sleep disturbances such as bad dreams, insomnia, or problems with early waking? • Has the patient noticed an unexplained change in appetite recently? • Does the patient find it difficult to focus on tasks, or are they having difficulty making decisions? There are also some “red flags” that doctors can look out for, which could signal the presence of underlying mental health problems. These include: • Signs of impairment in work, home or school life • Frequent infections • Unexplained chronic fatigue, or persistent aches and pains • Changes in appetite and / or sleeping patterns • Alcohol or substance use • Deterioration in personal hygiene or self-care. 2. A second topic that frequently features in my clients’ conversations about their medical practitioners, is that they want doctors to have a more wholistic approach to patient treatment. Individuals today, are increasingly aware of the influences of behaviour and lifestyle choices on their health. This is due in part to the abundance of information available on social media and the internet. Patients want their doctors to discuss ways to optimise their health through exercise, diet and good sleep hygiene. Linked to this, people are also wanting to have more conversations with their medical practitioners about non-drug treatments. One of the ways in which doctors can ensure that they advocate for whole-body health, is by communicating and collaborating across disciplines and specialisations. In so doing, healthcare practitioners can learn more about each other’s roles and find ways to best address their patients’ physical, mental and emotional concerns. 3. The third theme that I’ve chosen to discuss is something that causes patients much distress. It relates to the prejudice and stigma faced by individuals who have been diagnosed with mental illness. Alarmingly, it has emerged that people with psychiatric diagnoses encounter discrimination and face false preconceptions when seeking help from the medical profession. This is especially true for female patients, but it applies to men with mental health challenges as well. Unfortunately, the general public feeds into inaccurate, harmful stereotypes about people living with mental illness, but medical professionals can also display bias in their attitude towards and treatment of these patients. Despite their education and expertise, doctors aren’t immune to implicit prejudice and they sometimes perpetuate stigma against mental health. Several clients report feeling judged and dismissed and they sometimes spend much time during medical appointments trying to convince doctors to take them seriously. “Diagnostic overshadowing” - the process by which healthcare professionals wrongly attribute a person’s physical symptoms to their mental illness - is pervasive in medicine. People living with mental illnesses feel that doctors disrespect them, judge their credibility as they describe their physical symptoms, and even ignore or dismiss their concerns. Clients find that, for instance, their doctors are less likely to believe that their severe headaches or stomach pain are symptoms of a serious illness and order further diagnostic evaluations, if the person has a history of depression. In summary, my clients are asking their healthcare practitioners to pay more attention to mental health; to adopt a more wholistic and integrative approach to treatment; and to consciously and actively avoid adopting preconceived notions regarding patients with psychiatric diagnoses. The recent research indicates that my clients’ requests are echoed by the voices of patients across the globe. References available on request. 26 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 2023 | Issue 6 MHM