Introduction
The history of psychological diagnosis liability knows too many sad occurrences when severe cases of ignorance on the part of medical specialists led to a tragedy for numerous people, their families and their community. It is not a secret that nowadays there happens more and more situations when patients fall a victim to incompetence on the part of doctors. What can be more seductive than psychiatric and psychological diagnoses? These diagnoses only seem to give information about once emotional or mental illness, but all of these areas of a human personality are so individual and, thus, can be easily misinterpreted. All the issues related to one’s mental and emotional health are very complicated. As a result, psychiatric diagnosing is sort of spiritual drafting that is able to ruin lives and often does so. Reflecting on numerous cases of ignorance on the part of specialists in the area of mental conditions, it appears that the consequences of an inaccurate psychological diagnosis are critical including the worsening of the patient’s condition, unneeded material expenses, the loss of the person’s trust in oneself, and suffering of the patient’s family and close ones.
Contributing factors that lead to inaccuracies in the diagnosis
The problem of inaccurate psychological diagnosis has proved to be very critical at the present time. According to Nilson (2009, par. 12), Numerous studies have shown that patients get the wrong diagnosis as much as 20% of the time and also receive the wrong treatment half of the time. 35% of doctors and 42% of patients report errors in their own care or that of a family member (s).
This disappointing statistics shows all the pain that people must face which is found behind the phrase “inaccurate psychological diagnosis”.
Clinical consequences
Speaking about the horrific consequences of an inaccurate psychological diagnosis, many important points are to be taken into consideration. First of all, contributing factors that lead to such inaccuracies in the diagnosis are to be discussed. According to Mullany and Handford (1993, p.35), “in many respects the history of liability for psychiatric illness has been characterized by ignorance, suspicion and fear “. As a result patients are in constant fear that their mental condition will not only get better but will even get worse in case they will call a psychologist in aid. This became one of the central problems which patients have to face while their experience of associating to psychologists and psychiatrists. In addition, the specialists are often limited in time, have to solve a row of the most varied and complicated problems, and being affected by these factors are not able to apply their knowledge for the patient’ benefit to the full and correctly. Studies prove that the biggest part of problems is connected to a failure to analyze the patient’s case properly taking into consideration all the complex of problems and symptoms the patient actually has (Napier & Wheat 1995).
One more problem is indicated in the following expression by Nilson (2009, par. 37), diagnoses are reported to be often changed in an effort to impose the use of a particular drug which is dictated by the contract the specialist has with some company to the patient. One more important point to be taken into consideration with regards to the issues related to inaccurate psychological diagnoses and their consequences for people is their nature: psychiatric and psychological diagnoses are not actually scientific and medical; they are given being based on mental defects or disorders, but not on physical deviations (Nilson 2009). There exist no objective and well-studied medical tests for defining mental problems as such problems are not about the body, but about mind, soul and spirit. With regards to this, psychiatric diagnoses seem to have a false validity, and are surrounded by a doubtful medically aura. The most terrifying thing about any psychological or psychiatric diagnoses is that they are based not on science and researches and examinations, but on opinions and someone’s understanding which can be easily mislead.
Next, the consequences of an inaccurate diagnosis are to be discussed. These consequences may be divided into two groups: clinical and social. The clinical ones are connected to the health of the patient along with one’s unneeded financial expenses, and social ones are related to the patient’s position in the society along with one’s relations with people around. Nilson (2009) argues that a wrong diagnosis may result into numerous difficulties including material expenses, the loss of time, being ineffective and even harmful for the patient, and what is more may even threaten the patient’s life.
The person who received an inaccurate diagnosis has to suffer all the consequences of low quality of medical service including treatment exercised in a dangerous way, often hospital and physician visits, complications, disabilities and drug dependence. It comes down to time, money, expense, costs, higher medical insurance premiums, malpractice, worries and discouragement. Perhaps worst of all, is the fact that inaccurate diagnosis is an inevitable trap of prescribing psychiatric medication which would definitely cause even more damage for the person’s health. It is a well-known fact that drugs prescribed for psychiatric patients are toxic for the brain and the other organs including liver and kidneys. In addition, such drugs actually do not change the biochemical balance in the brain for the better, but only for the worse.
The adverse effects of such medicines are mind-blowing: instead of curing the patient they make one mistakenly feel “improved”, and still, in fact, only the feelings of the patient are artificially jacked up or dulled; moreover, the person’s judgment about oneself and one’s life may have been impaired. More importantly, people step into dangerous territory where they take medication for the wrong reason; they often become addicted to medicines and find themselves comfortable only when they are under the effect of a certain drug. To see all the sad consequences of this problem, I would like to mention the example of one of my neighbors, Linda. Linda suffered from post-patrimonial depression, and her condition was a severe one. Her physician mistakenly defined her case as a more complicated condition, and as a result prescribed her very strong sedatives. This damaged the work of Linda’s brain, and turned her into something like a “vegetable”. In addition, she became an addict, and could not live without her medicines. Sadly, this woman along with her husband and a little baby fell victim to the most resenting medical ignorance.
Social consequences
Furthermore, the consequences of such inaccurate diagnosis from the social point of view are even more critical. Namely, the information about the person’s pseudo mental disorder is very often spread in numerous areas starting from once place of work, and ending with one’s neighbors and associates. In addition, a psychiatric or psychological diagnosis makes the person benumb and incapable leaving no hope to transform one’s life for the better in the future. People who receive a psychiatric diagnosis start thinking that this is the end, and nothing can help. They stop controlling themselves, and feel less responsible for their emotional and spiritual recovery along with people around them including their children and spouses.
Above all, it is important to consider that all psychiatric and psychological diagnosis are always negative, and seem to put a cross on a person as an incurable case which may be only supported somehow in order to keep the person living within the community of people. According to Bregging (2010, par. 15), “there are no such diagnoses as “Exceptionally Able to Face Stress” or “Remarkably Resilient” or “Courageously Independent in the Face of Abuse””. And how often it happens that psychological diagnosis becomes a sentence for a person to be exterminated from society as something wicked and evil?
Conclusion
Concluding on all the information related above, it should be stated that behind any inaccurate psychological diagnosis is a personal pain of the patient along with the suffering on the part of one’s close people and families. The history of psychological and psychiatric practice knows too many cases when patients were put under unneeded medication which significantly worsened their condition, and made it impossible to improve this condition in the future. In addition, it is the health of the patient which continues to suffer along with one’s material situation. Finally, the victims loss their faith in the future, and stop fighting for their well-being.
References
Bregging, P. (2010). The Hazards of Psychiatric Diagnosis.Web.
Mullany, N, & Handford, P (1993). Tort Liability for Psychiatric Damage. Sydney: The Law Book Co.
Napier, M, & Wheat, K. (1995). Recovering Damages for Psychiatric Injury. London: Blackstone Press.
Nilson, K. (2009). How a Wrong Diagnostic Code May Affect a Patient. Web.