Inspiration
There is currently, on average, an 11 year delay between the first diagnosis and effective treatment of mental illnesses. This can be attributed to the lack of accessibility in mental health resources, as well as unclear delineations between different illnesses causing misdiagnosis. As seniors in high school, we wanted to focus on two of the most commonly experienced mental illnesses by people our age: unipolar depression and bipolar. These also happen to be two of the most commonly misdiagnosed mental illnesses. As patients are more likely to seek help when they are in a depressive state, those with bipolar disease are likely to be diagnosed as having depression. Their hypomanic, or “high” states, are then looked at as signs of remission of depression. This can be extremely dangerous as incorrect diagnoses lead to improper treatment. Treating bipolar patients with antidepressants can result in manic episodes and rapid cycling between episodes. Creating accessible, yet effective tools to identify misdiagnoses in their early stages is crucial.