33 / 48
33
Opposite page:
A mental health
professional asks
questions to try and
figure out the cause
of a patient’s anxiety.
begin to
diagnose
your problem. This will help the doctor
figure out how to fix it.
That’s why it is very important to tell your doctor
the truth. Some of the doctor’s questions might be
embarrassing. For example, consider the stomachache
again. You might not want to admit that you ate a bag of
candy the night before. But that information is important.
The doctor needs to know about the candy, or her diagnosis
will be wrong.
Everything said above about stomachaches is true for
mental disorders, too.
Finding the Cause
Before a doctor diagnoses a mental disorder, other problems
must be ruled out. For example, a breathing problem
called
asthma
can cause symptoms that might feel similar
to anxiety. So can heart problems. In fact, there are many
physical problems that can look and feel like anxiety. Even
too much coffee or soda can make people jumpy.
Your doctor probably will check for these problems
first. If you are healthy in all other ways, it will be time to
talk about mental causes of anxiety. Your doctor will ask
questions like:
• How often do you feel anxious?
• What does it feel like in your body when you are anxious?
• Does a specific event or place make you feel more anxious?
• Is there anything you do to help the feelings go away?
The doctor is not trying to be nosy. He needs this
information to understand what type of anxiety you have.