Citation

Back LH. Women Ther. 1992; 12(1-2): 137-149.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J015V12N01_11

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Health professionals routinely encounter clients who seem inappropriately or excessively emotional. Although these are psychological symptoms, they often have physiological origins. Such disorders as thyroid malfunction, hypoglycemia, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), irregular circadian rhythm, atypical systemic Candidacies, and food sensitivities are all frequently missed by those who do not know what to watch for. These disorders are surprisingly common in the general population. Because of the psychological manifestations of these physiologically-based disorders, women in particular are frequently mislabeled as hysterical, irrational or hypochondriacally. These disorders are generally easy to detect when the health professional is alert to their characteristic profiles. This article discusses how the therapist can identify physiologically-based mood disorders and direct clients to obtain amelioration for their medical condition.