Depression
Take this depression self-assessment to see whether you have symptoms of depression. This assessment can’t give you a diagnosis of depression, but it can help you evaluate your mood, so you can seek treatment if necessary.
Depression in Adults
What is it?
Depression is one of a range of moods a person feels that can vary from feeling down as a result of having a bad day, to a debilitating feeling of sadness that may overwhelm you and prevent you from performing normal daily tasks. Depression can occur in people of all ages and the episodes can last from a few days to several weeks or months. It is thought that young adults experience depression more frequently, and that it affects twice as many women as men.
What causes it?
The causes of this disorder are not fully understood, but there are many different ideas behind it. There is a belief that depression can be caused by certain stressful situations or major life changes. Even with these stressors, many believe that you must be genetically predisposed to depression. This belief is backed by some evidence of a hereditary link which causes depression. Some depressive disorders can be caused by a simultaneous medical condition. Depression is also linked to substance abuse.
What are the symptoms?
While there are many symptoms, some of the most common are:
- Loss of interest in activities that usually make the individual happy
- Changes in weight
- Changes in sleep patterns (either too much or too little), difficulty falling asleep or waking up earlier than usual
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Feeling agitated (unable to sit still)
- Frequent episodes of crying
- Feeling of excessive irritability or anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or plans of suicide
How to find out if you are suffering from depression?
Because of the increasing awareness of depression in our society, an accurate assessment for depression is readily available. This can be done by seeking assistance from a psychiatrist, your medical doctor or other mental health professionals. The mental health professional will want to obtain most of the following information to make an accurate diagnosis:
- Complete physical examination, including medical history
- Complete social and psychiatric history
- Survey of current mood and level of functioning
- A mental status examination
- Length of time you are currently experiencing these symptoms
What are the treatment options?
There are many options for the treatment of depression. Currently the most common is the prescribing of medication. Most psychiatrists and physicians combine this medication management with counseling to help to maximize the patient's recovery.
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Depression in Children
What is it?
Much like in adults, depression is one of a range of moods a person feels that can vary from feeling down from having a bad day, to a debilitating feeling of sadness that may overwhelm you and prevent you from performing normal daily tasks. Depression can occur in people of all ages. In children and adolescents, the way the depression manifests itself can be different from adults. For children, especially, depression is seen by others as acting out at times.
What causes it?
The causes of this disorder are not fully understood, but there are many different ideas behind it. There is a belief that depression can be caused by certain stressful situations by major life changes. Even with these stressors, many believe that you must be genetically predisposed to depression to experience it. This belief is backed by some evidence of a hereditary link which causes depression. Some depressive disorders can also be caused by a concurrent medical condition. Substance abusers also describe many of the same symptoms of depression.
What are the symptoms?
While there are many different symptoms that indicate depression in adults, there are even more with children and adolescents. Because of the lack of insight and coping skills in young people, depression is manifested in many different ways. Here are a few:
- Loss of interest in activities that usually make the child happy
- Changes in weight
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Agitation
- Restlessness
- Increased problems with conduct (acting out)
- Irritability and/or anxiety
- Changes in groups of friends (who they associate with)
- Talks of death or suicide
- Frequent episodes of crying
How to find out if your child is suffering from depression?
Because of the increasing awareness of depression in our society, an accurate assessment for depression is readily available. This can be done by seeking assistance from a psychiatrist, trained in working specifically with children and adolescents, your child's medical doctor or other mental health professionals. The mental health professional may want to obtain most of the following to make an accurate diagnosis:
- Complete physical examination
- Complete social and psychiatric history
- Survey of current mood and level of functioning
- Mental status examination
- Length of time you are currently experiencing these symptoms
What are the treatment options?
There are many options for the treatment of depression. Currently the most common is the prescribing of medication. If you are experiencing difficulties with your child, seek the assistance of a child psychiatrist. If it is an adolescent, most psychiatrists are comfortable managing their medications. As with other psychiatric disorders, it may be recommended that you enter into counseling in addition to medication management. (http://www.cnshealthcare.com/locations/)
Contact us to schedule an initial evaluation. Qualified participants will receive study related care at no charge and there is no need for health insurance.
A note about suicidal thoughts
Thoughts about death or suicide are common in depression, and it's important to take such thoughts seriously. If you feel like giving up or as if you might hurt yourself, get help immediately:
- Call your doctor
- Go to the emergency room
- Call 911
- Call the national hotline, 1-800-SUICIDE [1-800-784-2433]