Relationship Rx

Dear Trauma Queen: I too went through every psychological disorder and questioned whether that fit for me. In fact, I got depressed just thinking I could be clinically depressed. This is very common among medical, psychology and psychiatric students. In fact there's a term called "medical student's syndrome" to describe this phenomenon. One of the criteria for meeting the diagnosis of depression, anxiety, OCD or a similar mental illness is that the symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (DSM-IV). We all get lazy, depressed, anxious and obsessive. I can spend an entire weekend on my couch watching football. Does this make me lazy or obsessed? Probably. The question is: do these feelings cause significant distress or impairment in my social life or at work? When I first meet a patient I ask them simple questions to determine if they meet this criteria. a) Do you have a best friend or any friends? b) Do you have a job? If not, why? The answers usually tell me if the patient is experiencing clinically significant distress or impairment. If we're socially isolated, feeling emotional pain from many of our relationships and unable to sustain work, it might be useful to consult with our doctor. Otherwise, we should be talking with our lazy, depressed, anxious and obsessive friends. I always value second opinions. Please offer any advice or comments you have to Trauma Queen!