Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the branch of medical science that deals with diagnosing, treating, and preventing behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders. An individual’s mental health is affected by factors such as environment, family, and society. A psychiatrist is a medically qualified doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders. A psychiatrist may work with a psychologist. While a psychiatrist is licensed in prescribing medications, a psychologist can only give nonmedical help and counseling. 

An individual can see a psychiatrist for a plethora of reasons, such as:

• scary hallucinations,
• suicidal thoughts,
• panic attack,
• excessive use of drugs or alcohol,
• delusions,
• insomnia,
• hearing voices,
• anxiety, etc.

Psychiatrists have been trained to comprehend the relationship between emotional and medical illnesses to aid their diagnosis, evaluate medical data and develop treatment plans as they work with their patients. Before a diagnosis is made, the psychiatrist must first assess the patient by examining the patient’s mental and physical health. The patient’s medical history is reviewed, and some questions are asked to know more about the patient’s life, carry out some tests and conduct a physical examination. Some psychiatric conditions include:

• bipolar disorder,
• anxiety,
• insomnia.
• schizophrenia,
• delusions and hallucinations,
• depression,
• obsessive-compulsive disorder,
• borderline personality disorder,
• eating disorders,
• post-traumatic stress disorder.

The treatment of mental health conditions does not just require only medications, but different types of psychotherapy are also applied. Other forms of treatment in pschology include light therapy, brain stimulation therapies such as deep brain stimulation, etc. The results from the tests will determine the treatment plan that the doctor will develop.