Mental issues are still considered with stigma. Not everyone, but most people think likewise.
But do you know how difficult it is to identify disorders just watching & having some conversation !! Because in psychiatric & psychological issues, pathological & radiological tests are required for severe cases. Basically the process is called Mental Status Examination. Especially with new patients, it's important to evaluate current mental status. How well the patient is functioning? Are there noticeable strengths, weaknesses or dysfunctions? If these questions can be answered, possibility of reaching diagnostic accuracy increases.
This exam usually takes place in an interview setting & don't need any structured format in which the individual can be tested formally. In this exam, the clinician carefully observes behavior of the individual, engages him/her in casual conversation & explores patient's areas of thought content, mood, perception, judgement & patient's insight about his/her personal problems. Points generally observed are patient's appearance, hygiene, dress, ability to make eye contact & psychomotor behavior.
An important reason for engaging patient in conversation is to assess the patient's attention and concentration, speech, thought pattern & orientation. The clinician or therapist carefully pursues difficulties that might fall into this domain. The clinician or therapist tries to determine the probable accuracy of the information provided by patient, watching for distortions of memory and judging the patient's insights.
Before declaring any psychological issue as "nothing serious", think twice about the consequences if the problem remains untreated for a long time & give birth to some major disorders which can be time taking as well as life threatening.
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