May is Mental Health Awareness month and I wanted to take some time to talk about the challenges of distinguishing between medical or mental health symptoms. So many symptoms can be attributed to both medical and mental health conditions (racing heart, muscle tightness, insomnia, lack of appetite, confusion, agitation, breathing difficulties, etc.). All of these overlapping symptoms can make it hard to figure out the best course of treatment or even what doctor to see. Luckily you do not have to make this decision on your own. Hopefully your care recipient is connected to a doctor or team or providers to assist you.
As a caregiver you are probably often thinking about your loved one’s diagnosis, treatment options, and evaluating if things are changing. When a new concern or symptom presents it can be overwhelming and scary. Depending on what it is, your first instinct may be to avoid it altogether and just hope it gets better, you may make several appointments, or run to the emergency room. I would encourage you to also take a moment and evaluate the situation (after any initial safety or urgent needs are addressed). Ask yourself and your care recipient questions in an effort to increase your awareness and understanding. Some examples of questions to consider:
- What was happening just before this happened?
- What changes were made the days or weeks prior?
- Did anything out of the ordinary occur?
- What were they (the care recipient) thinking about when it happened or immediately before?
- Are there new stressors or have circumstances shifted?
I want to acknowledge that not all care recipients will be able to participate in this discussion and you may or may not be able to ask them what they were thinking about or feeling prior to the concern starting. If your care recipient isn’t able to engage in this conversation that makes it all the more difficult to make these determinations.
Oftentimes people jump to the conclusion that a concern or symptom must be a new medical condition or that a current diagnosis is getting worse. In my experience, people do not often consider if the symptom could be related to mental health. By answering the questions above you may recognize a pattern, a change in habits, or increased stress that could be leading to or exacerbating the situation. Did they start drinking more caffeine which makes them feel more anxious? Did a medication dosage or prescription change? Did a beloved family member or friend move away?
Again, the point of this isn’t to discourage you from seeking medical support when new concerns arise. It is to pause and gather information so that you enter those conversations with information and provide your doctors with all of the context and background they need to make a correct and accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
Let us know in the comments if this has been something you have faced in your caregiving and what you did to ensure your care recipient got the support and treatment they needed.
