Diagnostic Code V In Regards to Achieving

Diagnostic Code V

In regards to achieving a comprehensive diagnosis, stressors can go beyond environmental or physical concepts. It is possible for patients to be experiencing cultural or religious stressors. Thus, there are diagnostic codes that can be used to illustrate the patient's stress coming from such abstract and non-physical components. For example, in the DSM-IV, there is the diagnostic code V 62.89, which pertains to a religious or spiritual problem that the patient is experiencing.

Diagnostic code V 62.89 is related to a significant change in they way a patient practices religion or believes in some spiritual concept. Ultimately, it is defined as a "change in one's spiritual / religious orientation that substantially alters the participant's life" (Value Options, 2006). There could be a number of potential changes significant enough to create stress within the patient's life that could contribute to negative symptoms. For example, if someone was converting to a religion much different than the one they were raised, there might be significant stress in adapting to such a huge adjustment. If a person raised Christian is converting to a significantly different religion, like Orthodox Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, or even Hinduism, there is going to be stressors that might impact their physical and mental health. Such alterations in a person's life could create a general "lack of desire to socialize or communicate with colleagues, neighbors, and family as frequently" as before the spiritual change (). Part of changing one's religion means adopting new practices that may not fall in line with the practices of one's older community. For example, certain daily activities or even traditions of dress and behavior may not be aligned with one's old networks which may cause one to start connecting with those networks less and less. Removing oneself from one's old community and network may be a part of changing such a huge element of one's life.

Such stress could exacerbate any other physical symptoms and even create new ones. For example, the patient's sleep may be affected, as well as their eating habits. When one changes religion, the individual may also have to significantly change their everyday activities, including eating habits (American College of Emergency Physicians, 2013). For example, Hinduism practices refraining from eating beef, while Orthodox Judaism refrains from eating pork and forces individuals to eat only Kosher foods. This change in diet could have physical results and could become a stress that could be related to the diagnosis of patient symptoms. The research suggests that this could contribute to the patient appearing "to be loosing weight and/or experiencing insomnia" (Value Options, 2006). Both of these symptoms could be related back to the stress of altering one's daily routines and eating habits, which could be related to the conversion to another religion. The "participant may decrease or increase normal eating routine" (Value Options, 2006). This could have a significant impact on the patient's physical well being and could become a stressor in that patient's physical condition.