Metabolic and circulatory disorders, drug abuse, and neurological-psychiatric diseases – many diseases are accompanied by a psychological change. To be able to treat this change in nature, the physician must gain a detailed insight into his patient’s psyche.
What are the psychopathological findings?
The psychopathological findings are the core of the psychiatric examination – in addition to the information on the current medical history, the treating physician mainly focuses on analyzing the mental state of his patient as precisely as possible. Many thought processes are inextricably linked to our mental state, so that performances of our consciousness such as orientation, attention, and memory are examined just as much as thinking itself, perception, affectivity, and drive.
In which diseases are psychopathological findings collected?
As soon as behavioral abnormalities or increasing forgetfulness appear, consultation with a psychiatrically trained physician is advisable. Unexplained fatigue, depressed mood that lasts for several weeks, or increasing belligerence may also be symptoms of a neurologic-psychiatric disorder requiring treatment.
In many sufferers, the change in character is more likely to be noticed by caregivers because it occurs slowly. It is different with withdrawal symptoms in the context of a drug addiction – there, the symptoms such as hallucinations or panic attacks can be so frightening that the affected person seeks medical attention himself.
