Have any of you ever had the experience of feeling like you are a second-class patient because you suffer from anxiety or depression? Have you ever felt like your medical symptoms were dismissed or scrutinized because the doctor knew that you were being treated for a mental disorder? Did you ever feel like you were being labeled as the “crazy patient” after being seen by a medical professional? If so you are not alone. It is my opinion that in some cases, your history of being treated for anxiety, depression, or other mental disorders can influence the quality of your medical care.
This feeling that some medical professionals may treat you differently due to your mental illness is not all in your head. It seems there is scientific validity to doctor prejudice when it comes to treating people who also have some sort of mental disorder. A 2007 news story for Medical News Today reported on the findings of two psychiatric researchers who took a look at studies investigating the quality of medical care for those who had a history of mental illness and those who did not. During the 2007 annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Alex Mitchell, a consultant psychiatrist, and Dr Darren Malone, a specialist registrar in psychiatry, revealed that 12 out of 14 studies showed inferior quality of care for those with a mental illness during health screenings. When it came to medical treatment (prescribing medications and recommending diagnostic procedures or surgical intervention) 14 of the 23 studies suggested inferior quality of care for those with a mental illness.
It seems that this medical prejudice is so great that it crosses geographic boundaries. In a 2008 the chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Michael Kirby, had this to say at the annual Canadian Medical Association meeting:
“You’d think that health care workers would be less prejudiced about mental illness than the general population. You would be wrong.”
It has been my personal experience that my history of depression and anxiety sometimes work against me when I seek guidance and treatment for medical problems. Although I do suffer from both anxiety and depression, I have rarely taken prescribed medications to treat either disorder. Yet when I have taken either an antidepressant or an anti-anxiety drug and the medical doctor sees this on my chart, I feel that it has definitely colored the doctor’s perceptions.
The following is one example from my personal experience in how medical professionals may show their bias when it comes to treating someone with a mental illness or mood disorder. I was in my twenties and I had just had a miscarriage. During this time I was also in therapy. This loss precipitated an episode of major depression where I was feeling suicidal. Although I was very opposed to taking medication, at my psychologist’s strong request, I began taking an antidepressant. While the antidepressant did lift me from the depths of my depression, I was also eager to get off of the drug. The reason was that I wanted to start trying to get pregnant again.
