Dr. Lydon, tell me about your background as a psychiatrist:
I graduated from Bellarmine University with a degree in health service administration in 1989, and worked
for Jewish Hospital out of college before getting into a sales job. Sales was not for me. With the support of my
wife, I went back to school to get my undergraduate coursework done, took the MCAT and entered medical
school as a “non-traditional” student. I graduated from U of L’s School of Medicine in 2002. Since completing
my residency in psychiatry in 2006, I have had a private practice which has focused on inpatient hospital work
and outpatient follow ups.
What mental illnesses are most commonly seen in your practice?
We see a lot of depression and anxiety disorders as well as a significant amount of substance abuse. Often we’ll
see depression coupled with substance abuse including alcohol, opiates, heroin or methamphetamine. These
disorders often feed off each other. I often tell people who come into the office suffering from both depression
and substance abuse that six months of sobriety would do wonders to improve their mood.
When a patient is both depressed and abusing substances, how can you treat both?
If you can get the patient sober and off of drugs, that’s a good place to start. Many people using substances
often indicate they use drugs or alcohol to medicate, or “self-medicate” their symptoms of depression. I often
hear them say, “It’s the only thing that’s ever helped,” so they’re usually very invested with that substance. The
first step is to get the patient to reduce their use of alcohol or drugs. We educate them on the negative effects
of substance abuse on their mood state and general health as well. If a person is drinking three nights a week
and throughout the weekend, we come up with strategies to cut back.
If the patient is drinking alcohol each and every day, and they find themselves waking up with tremors and
sweats, then we must determine if they have a true dependency. If that’s the case, we have to have a very serious discussion about substance use and dependence. We have to find a road to sobriety in order to achieve
successful treatment. If the alcohol abuse is that severe or if it’s a more serious substance such as opiates or
heroin, you need to get the dependence taken care of first.
Often times patients with depression don’t realize their mental condition until it has been there
for quite some time. What signs of depression can those who are suffering look for?
The people suffering from a major depressive disorder may get a lackadaisical attitude about themselves. They
may not ke