How to Make the Right Diagnosis and Avoid Biases
youtu.be
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes provides an extensive overview of the complex interplay between physiological and psychological factors in mental health. She emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive biopsychosocial diagnosis when assessing mental health issues, noting that symptoms like fatigue can stem from a variety of causes such as hormonal imbalances, diseases, and nutritional deficiencies. Dr. Snipes warns against the limitations of talk therapy alone and stresses the need to consider physiological causes for significant improvement in mental health treatment. She also discusses how biases, such as framing and confirmation biases, can affect decision-making in diagnosis and how media attention can skew the perceived prevalence of certain disorders. The PIECES mnemonic is introduced as a tool to evaluate the full scope of a patient's life, acknowledging that co-occurrence of disorders is common and should be explored. Dr. Snipes warns against over-diagnosing patients with multiple mental health issues, which can lead to feelings of being broken and overwhelmed, and instead focuses on addressing symptoms and their root causes. She discusses the interconnectedness of physiological systems, such as the HPA, HPT, and HPG axes, and their role in mental health, highlighting how hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances can lead to mood disorders. The impact of hydration, nutrition, and gut microbiome health on neurochemical function and mood is also explored, along with the effects of chronic stress, glucocorticoid resistance, and sleep dysfunction on emotional regulation. Dr. Snipes touches on the emotional effects of anger, anxiety, grief, and the role of stress response in depression and low energy. She explores factors contributing to low energy and fatigue, including sleep dysfunction, hormonal imbalances, and medication side effects, and examines causes of sleep disturbances such as hormonal imbalances, hypervigilance, allergies, addiction, and co-sleeping. Behavioral addictions, various medications, and neuro atypicality are noted as factors that can disrupt sleep and lead to social withdrawal. Anxiety is linked to nutritional and hormonal imbalances, sleep issues, medication side effects, and addictions, while cognitive issues like concentration are affected by nutritional imbalances, dehydration, diseases, and medication side effects. Dr. Snipes recommends resources like drugs.com for information on medication side effects and interactions and a symptom checker for identifying potential physiological issues. She concludes by emphasizing the importance of addressing the whole person in treatment and the role of the HPA axis and stress in hormonal and neurotransmitter balance, ending with well-wishes for the audience and a personal note about pets.
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes provides an extensive overview of the complex interplay between physiological