Depression

[Nightmare]

Can anyone steer me in the right direction for, say, an internet test to see if I need help with my depression? Because I don't know if I'm manic depressive or not.

[Weasel]

1. 1-1=
2. A+B=4 (A is 1)
3. 6-3=
4. 12+5=
5. 4-2+5%=


Test

[fable]

Manic depressiveness is nothing like clinical depression. In fact, if you're interested in reading up on the former, do a web search on BPD (Bi-Polar Disorder), its new, far more accurate term.

[Nightmare]

Thank you, Weasel, and fable. I'm fairly certain I don't have Bipolar Disorder. However, I think I do have clinic depression.

[thantor3]

Generally, there are several tests that are utilized to assess depression, but one of the more useful and better researched is call the Beck Depression Inventory. I have a copy of it and if you would like I can email it to you. Generally, if a patient comes to me and tells me they feel like they have issues with depression, then I take this quite seriously. My next step is to then try to ascertain if it is truly a mood disorder or if it is due to something else. For example, autoimmune diseases, rheumaticological disorders like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, blood sugar dysregulation, sleep disorders, food allergies, toxic exposures, and several other health conditions can contribute to or underlie a sense of depression. One of the things that conventional medicine does that really angers me is treating grief and loss as depression. Typically they just want to throw anti-depressants at the problem, which in many cases is inappropriate. So this is one thing you need to ask yourself: is this feeling I am having due to a recent loss or is it due to other circumstances? Issues due to grief and loss require somewhat different handling than issues due to depression.

Psychological testing is a good first step in educating yourself about a mood disorder. But if you are having a hard time, I would encourage you to seek professional intervention, since no test will provide the level of diagnostic acumen that a trained professional can offer.

[Weasel]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gaxx_Firkraag Thank you, Weasel, and fable. I'm fairly certain I don't have Bipolar Disorder. However, I think I do have clinic depression.

No problem

If you think it might help, do as thantor said and see a doctor. No harm in checking. I would look at it like a yearly check up. Mental heath is just as important as physical health.

When I feel depressed..I try to do things different.

Spend sometime just walking in a park.

Remember most humans forget to see the good....only the bad.

[Nightmare]

Quote:

Originally posted by Weasel Remember most humans forget to see the good....only the bad.

Thats me, sometimes. Not much anymore, though. I mostly get away from depression by either listening to my music (rock, what else ), reading some books, or talking with friends to get it off my shoulders. My friends have largely gone through depression, in some more minor stages then me, but they still all understand. My best friend, however, I believe she might be manic depressive (or have bipolar disorder, cheers to fable), unfortunitly. One of my other friends has scars from when she cut herself with a knife. But as long as we are all friends, we talk, and sort of "keep each other alive", in a literal sense. So I know I'll probably make it.

[Georgi]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gaxx_Firkraag Can anyone steer me in the right direction for, say, an internet test to see if I need help with my depression? Because I don't know if I'm manic depressive or not.

If you're at the stage when you think you might be a manic depressive... seek professional help. Go and see your doctor, it will probably be far more useful than doing some online test to confirm that you're depressed (you already know that)...

[Nightmare]

@All, thank you. I've decided I'm going to see a doctor, although I think I should tell my parents first. That won't be the easiest thing to do.

[C Elegans]

Gaxx, I'm sorry to hear you have a hard time. I agree with what the others have already posted, and I think it's very good you have decided to see a doctor. Telling your parents is of course difficult, but I am sure they will be understanding - being depressed is something almost everybody will experience at some point in life.

Some words of advice though: I don't know how the situation is where you live, but in many countries, especially the US, UK and South America, anti-depressants are extremely overprescribed. Many doctors, GP:s as well as specialists, may let a person go home with a prescription without making a proper assessment and confirm a diagnosis. Don't let this happen to you. As Thantor says, there are many reasons why a person might feel depressed or show symtoms similar to clinical depression, although other conditions or your life situation is the reason for those symptoms, rather than an actual affective disorder. Make sure you get a proper diagnostic interview by a specialist. Good luck!

[Nightmare]

Thanks, CE, I'll remember that about the anti-depressents. However, I'm pretty sure alot of my depression is not just situational.

[C Elegans]

@Gaxx: I of course don't know enough about your background to be able to say something really helpful, but if I understand the situation correctly, you have been feeling down for a fairly long time now, and there is no specific trigger event like something awful happened to you, somebody close to you died, etc.

Anti-depressants actually work equally well regardless whether the depressive state is induced by situational factors or "neurochemical imbalance". Like Thantor says, they effect of modern antidepressants is best with mild to moderate depression (about 2/3 of patents get better), whereas they are not very efficient against severe depression. The problem as I see it, is that anti-depressants offer no solution to problems if a person is having problems, and that they often need to be taken continously for a long, long time. Studies show that Cognitive therapy and antidepressants have the same success rate in depressed patients (2/3) but for those who have only taken pills and no therapy, it is much more common that the depression returns again after treatment.

I am not at all against use of antidepressants, at least not as it is used in Sweden. I am however strongly against the huge overprescription I know is common in the US and UK, and I am also of the opinion that only specialists, not GP:s, should be allowed to prescribe them. They are not as harmless as many people think, and obviously manydoctors know as little about them as the patients do. There is a huge case going on right now in the US and UK, where people are sueing GlaxoWellcomeSmithKline for the adverse events of Seroxat. Anyway, I know Seroxat very well, and like other Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, it is a good and safe antidepressant with few side effects provided it is correctly used. It however seems to be a problem to find a physican who knows how to use it. Should you decide to try antidepressants, make sure your doc knows what he/she is doing, and do some reading on the subject yourself as well (or ask your parents to do it).

[Nightmare]

Again, thanks. I haven't actually been depressed for the past month, mostly because I got a girlfriend that I care for, and that cares for me. I do still think I need to see a doctor though, because I was seriously considering ending my life several times this past year. I'll probably go see a doctor in a week or two.