Do you think you might have depression? Have you noticed any signs that are related with those of depression? You may want to think about visiting your doctor and getting a diagnosis. Before visiting your doctor, there are there are a few thing you should know and be prepared for. The doctor will ask you to run some tests and medical exams, since depression can often be a cause of another health issue. After the doctor makes sure there is no other health condition that could mislead the diagnosis, he will focus on the neurological and endocrine systems. If you do have another health condition, the doctor may suggest treatment or advise you to first treat your health condition, which will most likely help treat your depression symptoms.
Depression could be associated with the following conditions:
- Central nervous system tumors
- Head trauma
- Multiple sclerosis
- Stroke
- Syphilis
- Various types of cancer
Diagnosis:
Your doctor can usually diagnose if you are depressed by going through a depression screening test with you and doing a physical exam. He or she might also ask for complementary tests such as a blood test.
Depression Screening Tests:
During these tests, your doctor will ask you questions about your mood and daily life in order to screen for depression. Your answers will help them to make a diagnosis. Questions that you may have to answer include:
- Are you feeling down, hopeless or depressed? Has this been bothering you in the past month?
- During the past month, have you felt bothered by losing interest in things you once enjoyed doing?
Going through the screenings and exams will help your doctor in making a diagnosis. Once they have one, they can prescribe an effective treatment for you.
Today is the National Depression Screening Day. Help raise awareness for depression by getting screened today.
Are you or a loved one living with depression? See if you qualify for Segal’s clinical research study on Depression today!
Source: http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-tests
