Try Therapy for a Change
copyright 2011 Antonia Caretto
www.BeTreatedWell.com   
Antonia Caretto, Ph.D., PLLC  (248) 553-9053   
    Is it Depression?

    Abraham Maslow, founder of humanistic psychology said, "When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat
    everything as if it were a nail."  Psychologists, with The Diagnostic a Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders run the risk of
    treating all complaints as manifestations of psychological disorders, when in fact they may have a medical basis.
       
    When a patient complains of feeling a lack of energy, many thoughts come to mind.  Among those are two distinct diagnoses
    which have similar symptoms: Hypothyroidism and Depression.  In both  of these the  symptoms such as tiredness,  loss of
    energy and seemingly unexplained weight gain tend to develop gradually.

    In order to make the right  diagnosis I will inquire about a family history of thyroid disease (and other health problems) and
    will ask about the presence or absence of  any other symptoms of hypothyroidism which are not common in depression.  These
    include dry skin, hair loss, a puffy face and notable cold intolerance.  I also ask about substance use and a family history of
    depression.

    Hypothyroidism is five times more common in women than men in the 30-50 year age range.  Overall it affects 10% of all
    women and the prevalence increases as we age.  Of those women in the 35-44 year age group the incidence is only 6%.  But the
    rate is more than 20% among women in their mid-70s.  Given these rates, in the USA it is estimated that more than 3 million
    women ages 45-64 have undiagnosed and therefore untreated hypothyroidism.

    Unlike many other chronic health problems, African American women are far less likely to have hypothyroidism compared to
    white or Hispanic women.  However, knowing the symptoms and statistics is not sufficient to definitively make the diagnosis of
    hypothyroidism; in order to get a  diagnosis one must have a  blood test.  Hypothyroidism can be accompanied by high
    cholesterol levels and, if left untreated, can cause high blood pressure and infertility.

    Treatment of hypothyroidism  just involves taking a synthetic thyroxine replacement.  The best psychological care can not cure
    thyroid disease, but a good psychological evaluation can and should be able to help  identify when symptoms of depression
    may be caused by hypothyroidism.