A woman should always reject a psych diagnosis and insist on more tests. My mother came down with ovarian cancer. Depression was a side effect of the cancer. Her doctor told her she was depressed, and treatmant was delayed over two months.
Hyperthyroidism is another illness that is commonly misdiagnosed. Doctors fail to take women seriously, and frankly, I have difficulty trustimg many of them.
“Depression was a side effect of the cancer”.
Very true, Judith Anne. My Mom had a period of what she thought could have been depression. Turned out it was pancreatic cancer and yes... one of the symptoms is “feeling blue”. Sometimes depression is a symptom of something else.
Severe anemia also causes depression-like symptoms. I was so anemic at one point that I needed a transfusion, yet my GP was prescribing anti-depressants for me.
A significantly high proportion of smokers also suffer from mental disorders.