Title: The Dangers of Mental Health Misdiagnosis: Why Accuracy Matters – Bridges to Recovery
Headings: The Dangers of Mental Health Misdiagnosis: Why Accuracy Matters
The Dangers of Mental Health Misdiagnosis: Why Accuracy Matters
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Prevalence of Mental Health Misdiagnosis
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The Effects of Inaccurate Diagnosis of Mental Illness
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Content: they were a respite from the pain of her depressive episodes, not something alarming that needed treatment. And so her bipolar disorder went unrecognized, her hypomania remaining invisible to both her and her physician, and the resulting mental health misdiagnosis prevented her from healing. Begin Your Recovery Journey. 877-727-4343
Prevalence of Mental Health Misdiagnosis
Magda is hardly alone in her experience of mental health misdiagnosis. A 2012 study by Bipolar UK, the Royal College of Physicians, and Bipolar Scotland found that “people with bipolar disorder wait for an average of 13.2 years before they are diagnosed, and often spend years receiving treatment for other conditions.” Of 706 people surveyed, only 15% received a prompt diagnosis, while 85% experienced diagnostic delay. “ Most of those were wrongly told they had depression,” writes Denis Campbell for The Guardian. “ Among the 85% whose diagnosis was delayed, 71% said that their symptoms had become worse as a result of receiving inappropriate treatment, such as antidepressants or sleeping pills.” As Suzanne Hudson, chief executive of Bipolar UK, says, “A delay of this length has a significant impact for individuals and families, with sometimes devastating consequences, as bipolar has the highest rate of suicide of any psychiatric illness.” Of course, people with bipolar disorder are not the only ones vulnerable to misdiagnosis. “