Question

What are the potential consequences of a patient being misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder when he or she is only suffering an episode of temporary anxiety? What about a patient who is diagnosed as not having an anxiety disorder when he or she does in fact have one?

Answer 1

The potential consequences of a patient being misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder when he or she is only suffering an episode of temporary anxiety is the fact that such a patient may be treated with medications like the; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

and thus the patient may be exposed to unnecessary medication which has side effects. In contrast when a patient who is diagnosed as not having an anxiety disorder when he or she does, in fact, have one is the fact that his medical condition will be left unaddressed and such a patient ‘s condition may deteriorate and due to building up of stress he may develop other diseases as well.