Experiencing the range of human emotions is normal. It is just as normal to feel sad or angry as it is to feel happy or frightened. Most people have times when they feel sad or grumpy but come out of it fairly easy and it lasts for a short period of time.
You may have experienced the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, trouble at work or school or any number of other problems and felt extremely sad. That is normal. What is not normal is to continue on in this state for more than two weeks without any let up of the symptoms. When you continue to feel sad and experience other symptoms of depression, you may be at risk for any of a number of depressive disorders and should contact a mental health care professional for a depression test.
Depression Symptoms
There are a number of symptoms of depression. If they last more than two weeks or are recurring, you should contact your doctor to arrange for a depression test. The symptoms include:
Low Mood – when you feel low, sad, empty, are easily brought to tears and experience frequent periods of irritability
Decrease in Pleasure (Anhedonia) – when you have lost most or all interest in activities you enjoy, even routine activities that you looked forward to
Weight Changes – major fluctuations in weight (loss or gain) without actually attempting to make the change, typically a change of 5%
Sleep Changes – insomnia (the inability to sleep) or hypersomnia (too much sleep)
Motor Problems – you may feel physically agitated and restless or slowed down in motion
Fatigue – a general loss of energy or feeling like you are drained
Worthlessness/Guilt – you may feel worthless or guilty about things that are outside of your control
Foggy Headed – your ability to think seems decreased or your thinking seems clouded and you are unable to make any decisions
Deadly Thoughts – you may have recurrent thoughts of death or vague thoughts of suicide
Depression Test
There is no real litmus test to determine whether or not you have depression. Mental health professionals have a few ways to determine if a patient has depression and what level that depression is at to decide treatment. They take a history of family mental illness, medical history and in formation about your symptoms first to get background information.
Next the doctor will give you a depression test to get a more defined idea about your suffering. The depression test is designed to understand your risk of becoming a depression patient due to a predetermined mindset and to give an idea of how bad it is or can be. The depression test is an analysis of how you feel, react and behave. It does not require anything but your answers to the question and the doctor’s professional analysis. You do not have to have any blood drawn or give any urine sample. Examples of questions in a depression test include:
Do you often feel sad, empty or tearful?
Do you lack interest in or do not take pleasure in most activities, even sex?
Do you have had a weight loss or gain of over 5% of your body weight in the past 6 months?
Do you feel like you have been eating too much or too little over the past few months?
Do you sleep too much or not enough?
Do you feel agitated/slowed down?
Do you feel a lack of energy?
Do you feel worthless or guilty?
Do you feel restless, uneasy or irritated?
Do you have difficulty in concentrating and/or decision making?
Do you feel like a failure or as though you are guilty of something outside of your control?
Do you feel like things always g wrong no matter what you do?
Do you think about, plan or have you attempted suicide?
Do you preoccupied with death?
Follow Up
The doctor will follow up the depression test with an assessment of your depression or depression risk. You will be given information about the results and begin whatever recommended treatment is available that will suit your particular form of depression best. This may be in the form of psychotherapy or a combination of therapy and medication. Often medication takes a few weeks to a couple months to balance out any chemical imbalance that may exist and the side effects diminish over time.
