Depressed? New York City Screens for People at Risk

NY Times ^ | April 13, 2005 | MARC SANTORA and BENEDICT CAREY

[bannie]

Whew! That article's depressing!

[Clemenza]

Funny, when I lived in NYC, I was only depressed when I was a poor student looking for work. Now I am gainfully employed, with a good paying job, living in the "hippest nabe in Seattle" and I am depressed as all hell.

[MikeHu]

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Dr. Lloyd I. Sederer, the director of mental health services in New York, hopes to set an example for the nation by screening for depression.

The New York Times could set an example and give that test to their entire staff -- and in that way, qualify their current staff for disability and hire a whole bunch of bright, cheerful, optimistic, fair and balanced people.

[Leo Carpathian]

NYkers are not depressed, they are NUTS!
Proof: they elected Chucky and Hitlery!
Freeeepy!

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I thought some states had passed laws doing just that.

[DumpsterDiver]

Psychiatrists and other proponents say mental health screening is long overdue their patient load has dropped dramatically. They argue that millions of people with serious any mental disorders never get help, and that heightened vigilance would not only allow doctors to head off much worse mental problems later, but would also reduce the tremendous costs of untreated illness fatten the wallets of mental healh care providers.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

Your username is DUMPSTERDIVER,
You must have a mental illness. Please call your DR. in the morning for a prescription to cure you of dumpsterdiving. :)

[Conservatrix]

I wouldn't tell the truth on one of those stupidd things even if I WAS depressed.... if I wold want help for something like that, I would chose WHEN and to WHOM to seek help....
no thanks, Nanny, but I can manage!

[DumpsterDiver]

Your username is DUMPSTERDIVER,
You must have a mental illness. Please call your DR. in the morning for a prescription to cure you of dumpsterdiving. :)

I only took up dumpster diving after my psychiatrist suggested it as a way to save money while we worked on curing my "problem" of being a shopaholic.

Why must I be so relentlessly persecuted!!!! :-)

[Goodgirlinred]

Gee, guys. Glad you find this subject so funny. For those of us who have lived through years of this, serious hospital treatment including electro-convulsive therapy, multiple prescription trials, multiple hospital admissions, lost employment, etc. it is not so funny. I wish someone had screened me earlier for diagnosis, and for heavens sakes I am a registered nurse!

BTW, psychiatrists should be in charge of medication management, especially for children, not the family doctor.

They are the experts. My internist won't touch that subject.

[LibertyRocks]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I for one don't think it's funny at all... The problem with this screening tool, is that it is possible for MDs to prescribe heavy-duty anti-depressants to people WITHOUT requiring any type of counseling. This "screening" while it may help some people who have GOOD doctors who are well-educated in these areas, could be a very bad thing for people who have MDs that already over-prescribe these medications without added support (the MDs could see this as a complete diagnostic tool that gives them a green light to prescribe).

As a nurse, and someone who unfortunately has first hand knowledge on this subject I'm sure you understand what I mean when I say this could be dangerous...

[LibertyRocks]

"Schools are already doing it to kids."

You're right about that too! I can't believe the number of children nowadays that attend school drugged up... I don't recall that many kids I went to school with needing so much medication. I don't think society has changed THAT much, but their ideas (teachers, psychologists) on treating children with problems certainly has... The scariest thing is what happens to these children when they grow up, lose their parents health insurance, but are addicted to these mood-altering chemicals, and then have no experience in controlling their behavior without assistance from the drugs themselves? Childhood is about learning - behavior included... I'm not saying there are not ANY kids who are helped by these medicines, but it seems that nowadays ANY deviation from "normal" behavior warrants a visit to a psychiatrist for medication. [I've even heard of school officials (not doctors) requiring medication or the child not being able to attend classes with that decision made BEFORE the child has even seen a doctor or been diagnosed with a medication requiring illness! Many teachers and administrators are taking it upon themselves to diagnose these children - they are teachers, not doctors and this practice should be stopped!]

[LibertyRocks]

"medication requiring illness" = illness requiring medication... (o:

[Almondjoy]

Do you know how much money is in it for them to say you got a problem?

[Goodgirlinred]

Of course I do. This is merely a tool, not a substitute for good sound medical practice. It should be used as a flag only to give the doctor a heads up that this patient MAY have a problem with depression. Then he can do a further in-depth work up with a referral to a therapist and possibly then a prescription for medication or referral to a psychiatrist.

[inquest]

It also has gotten to the point where parents have been accused by officials of child abuse or neglect if they refuse to allow their kids to take medications that a teacher or principal "prescribed".

[inquest]

No I don't.

[inquest]

What do you think of that questionnaire posted on the thread right below the article? Do you think, for example, that the third or fourth item should rank the same number of points as the ninth?