Negative ste
reotypes, and the stigma attached to mental illness is still alive and well.
Negative stereotypes deeply affect those with mental health conditions and may even discourage them from getting proper medical treatment. And now research suggests this stigma even creates an unconscious bias among medical professionals.
The study, published in the journal Health Affairs earlier this week, found that doctors neglect to follow up with their patients who have a depression diagnosis. They also are less likely to help depression patients manage their illnesses. Meanwhile, these doctors are more likely to engage in care strategies with patients who have chronic physical illnesses like diabetes.
The findings are unsettling because many patients seek treatment for depression from their primary care doctors. This is usually due to health insurance limitations and the stigma attached to seeing a specialized mental health professional. Interestingly enough, insurance issues are part of the reason why the study found a lack of depression care management from primary doctors in the first place, according to NPR. Time constraints were another reason.
Experts are increasingly recommending that clinicians do depression screenings during a person’s regular physical exam. While that’s a good start, it hardly guarantees followup care at the basic level. Instead, followups are left up to mental health specialists in the healthcare hierarchy, which once again, isn’t always an option for some people.
The study authors also concluded that primary care practices “are not well equipped to manage depression as a chronic illness, despite the high proportion of depression care they provide.” This is arguably the most alarming takeaway, given that depression – while manageable – can occur multiple times throughout a person’s life.
“Depression is a recurring illness,” Sagar Parikh, associate director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center, told the Huffington Post. “When it’s there, it’s often present for months. It needs a lot of active management and multiple treatments. Most people can recover from their depression, but they’re vulnerable to a second depression or third depression. That needs to be managed through lifestyle habits in order to prevent a relapse.”
And Parikh adds, “The bottoms line is that treating mental health problems not only reduces individual pain but it actually has an impact on physical health.”
While a more accepting society isn’t going to cure mental illness, it will certainly help with its management. A loved one wouldn’t tell someone with diabetes to just “get over it.” And a doctor wouldn’t leave a patient with cancer to manage it on their own. These illnesses require effective treatment and proper care in order to live a fulfilling, health life.
3/9/16