differential diagnosis
Last reviewed 01/2018
The young frequent attender is more likely to have psychological cause than the elderly infrequent attender.
Below are some characteristics of that may suggest tiredness being secondary to an organic cause or psychological cause. Note though that none of the characteristics are definitive in discriminating between these two causes of tiredness.
| ORGANIC TIREDNESS | PSYCHOLOGICAL TIREDNESS |
| Recent | Lifelong |
| Sustained | Intermittent |
| Later on in the day | Wake feeling tired |
| Factual description | Exaggerated description associated emotional trauma |
| Weight loss? | Weight gain suggests boredom Depression may present with tiredness - atypically with weight gain. |