First, all of us need to see bipolar illness and schizophrenia and dementia’s as possible consequences of organic dysfunction causing the different and many stages of delirium.
Second, we need to realize that “delirium” is relatively common at all ages and it needs to be worked up very carefully and seriously, even though it is not necessarily immediately life threatening as in causing immediate death.
Delirium is life threatening in that if chronic, it shortens your lifespan and, if it is allowed to become chronic it is life threatening as it robs you of your “life” your way of living, your life goals, your life skills, your memory, your intellect, your lucidity. \
Remaining technically alive without lucidity is not something any one would wish for, for themselves or for their friends and family.
Delirium is often reversible, if we do not give up looking for the organic problem in the body.
Chronic dementia may be a delirium, which would possibly make it reversible…if we do not give up looking for the organic problem in the body.
Delirium is currently not being addressed properly by any doctors, no matter what type of doctor they are; and this includes psychiatrists.
Psychiatric wards need to become delirium wards, places where teams of doctors and nurses can review the body systems, starting with vital signs to see if toxidromes can be detected, If we are talking of chemical imbalances in the body not only the brain, then, as in chemical poisoning, toxidrome will be an important first step in learning about the potential causes of “altered mental status” of severely ill mood disordered or psychotic patients. The mental status effects of poisoning or intoxication are very similar to the variety of mental status affects in dementia/mood disorders/psychosis.
” Toxic syndrome or toxidrome is a ‘clinical fingerprint’, characterised by a classic constellation of symptoms and signs due to toxic effects of chemicals in the body. ” Toxidromes poisoning. https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Toxidromes_poisoning/
Finding out what is complicating metabolism in the body and causing “altered mood, mental and motor” states is a tall order and will require time and clinical research.
One of the areas that would need further research is the function of the skeletal ventilatory pump system because this system moves air in and out of our lungs and is responsible for breathing.
to be continued….
Another area that would need further research is pH; of the blood, of the body, of the brain, especially as we already know that altered pH can definitely cause altered mental status, confusion, anxiety, depression and psychosis.
to be continued.
These are hard things to study and to research, I know.
to be continued…still editing….
Of Sound Mind 