By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Which Axis does that go on?

UPDATE

Under the DSM-5 system, mental health professionals no longer separate the information onto five Axis. We do still look for this information.

Several questions have come in on the relationship between medical issues, physical symptoms, and the five-axis system of the DSM. This is the lay version of that discussion. For a full discussion, you would need to consult the APA site or the full DSM-4-TR. I see from the search terms coming into counselorssoapbox.com that there are several questions about this.

The mental health profession is focused on mental illnesses. The DSM it the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” for a good reason. So if the problem is medical it is outside what we are doing. If you have ANY doubt, please see a medical doctor first and get any possible physical illness or condition ruled out before seeing a therapist. The DSM, however, does not see psychical and mental disorders as two separate things even though different professions may treat different aspects.

Some mental disorders can create symptoms that are physical. People who are depressed may not be able to sleep or they may sleep excessively. Nightmares can be a symptom of PTSD. These sorts of mind-body problems can be helped by therapy. Some disorders have elements of both physical illness and learned behavior. If a mental illness is caused by a medical problem it is diagnosed as a mental illness and goes on axis I. The DSM cites a thyroid condition that results in depression as an example of this. Drug-induced hallucinations would be another.

Short answer – Mental illness goes on Axis I

(Axis II if it is long-term or hard to treat like Personality Disorders)

Some physical conditions can affect your mental health even though they are not the direct cause of the illness. If you become depressed as a result of a cancer diagnosis then the therapist and the psychiatrist would want to know about cancer when treating your depression. Medical conditions affecting your mental health show up on Axis III. Which is a sort of “oh by the way” thing for therapists.

A medical condition that “influences” your mental health – AXIS III

One reader asked about coding Pregnancy. As I see it if I were treating a client for OCD and she gets pregnant, the pregnancy does not have to be coded. If I were treating this same person for depression and anxiety as a result of a rape and now she finds out she is pregnant, well the pregnancy may now have an effect on her mental health.

Sleep disorders are especially troubling. Poor sleep can be a symptom of a mental illness as in depression. Poor sleep can cause mental illness as in a breathing problem (sleep apnea) that prevents good sleep and creates depression or irritability. Intrusive nightmares can be a sign of PTSD. They can also be causing or maintain the symptoms.

There are some sleep disorders listed in the DSM but that list is not as inclusive as the list in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Sometimes there is a connection and sometimes people have a mental illness and sleep disorders that may influence each other but are not directly linked.

Sleep disorders are a highly specialized area. If you have a problem with sleep I recommend that you talk with your physician and you may need a referral to a sleep specialist.

In a future blog post or two, I want to discuss some conditions that get mistaken for other things and mixed up with mental health diagnoses.

More on Sleep Paralysis, Hypnagogic Hallucinations (Hypnagogia), Hypnopompic Hallucinations, Lucid Dreaming, and their relationship to mental illness in posts to come.

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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