Recently I’ve been rethinking my stance on diagnosis that tag on NOS, for example, Paranoid Schizophrenia NOS or Major Depression Disorder NOS. 

When I used to work in psych wards in Los Angeles County, it used to irk me that the treatment team would throw out diagnosis left and right with NOS for either they didn’t have to time to properly diagnose patients cause the hospital was a rotating door, OR, they don’t know enough about mental illness to properly diagnose someone so stick on the NOS to be safe.  It annoyed me on multiple levels cause once a person has an Axis I diagnosis it’s documented in a system.  Patients would come and go and float from hospital to hospital and when I would pull up their name in the system the patient would have several different diagnosis NOS…NOS…NOS. 

Now I wonder if having an NOS diagnosis is not such a bad thing. If the medical field can’t come up with a definitive diagnosis, or have time to properly treat a patient, why not have an NOS?

Have you been diagnosed with NOS?  Has your diagnosis changed with further intense psychiatric treatment?

Your insight is appreciated.

Depressed man photo available from Shutterstock

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    Last reviewed: 27 Feb 2013