Explain a DEPRESSION SCREENING to me

[bloodyjack]

A friend has recommended I undergo a depression screening.

What sort of questions do they ask, if any at all? Do I just *sit there* like a bug under a lamp and blather and bloviate about PROBLEMS and a WILL TO LIVE or lack thereof?

Or do I complete a battery of tests that's evaluated by a team of highly qualified and competent professionals who will, after carefully reviewing the results, reach a decision on whether or not to medicate me or subject me to further testing or tell me to kindly go shit in my hat?

[redqueen]

1. I don't know since I haven't had one

but please, if someone you know who cares about you has suggested it, do so just for safety's sake. Depression can take your enjoyment of years of your life away from you... you don't deserve that.

[CO Liberal]

2. Those are Room Dividers They Used During the 1930s...

:-)

[no name no slogan]

3. Do the screening first

Mostly it's a questionaire with some other probing into your medical history. Also, you should look into a full physical, too, as oftentimes depression could be the result of something physical, like a glandular malfunction or some such thing. It it IS physical, you may just need hormone therapy to get yourself back on track.

And for Allah's sake DO IT. You have nothing to lose. Not all depression responds to drug treatment-- in fact, most mild cases can be fixed with cognative therapy, without drugs at all. If it's more serious, you may be required to go on medication for a short time. Most people who take depression meds are not on them for more than a few months anyway, and once they get off them don't have any further recurrences.

If you do have a major depressive disorder (like me), you may have to take drugs all your life and undergo cognative therapy, too. However, most cases of depression (even major depression) ARE managable, and with a little effort can be controlled successfully.

You owe it to yourself and your family to be healthy. Getting screened is no big deal these days, as most people have come to accept depression as a brain/biochemical disorder, and not due to some sort of moral weakness.

GOOD LUCK :thumbsup:

[CitySky]

5. ditto

everything no name said too. Cognitive therapy helped me a bunch too -- the Burns book advocates this type of therapy.

Way to go no name for successfully managing yours. :thumbsup:

[HuckleB]

7. Yes, the Burns book is the only self-help book I'm able to recommend.

And CBT can do wonders for many, many folks.

[bloodyjack]

6. If I might ask,

what are some of the subtler symptoms of a major depressive disorder? and what is it that distinguishes a 'mild case' from the regular ups and downs of daily life?

and lastly just what does cognitive therapy entail?

thanks for the thoughtful response :)

edit: error

[CitySky]

8. CBT

Can't answer the first part of your question - don't know how to distinguish depression from "normal ups and downs" clinically. I've learned to tell when *I'm* depressed, and that's been enough for me to run with. :)

Simplified: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy asserts that our moods are determined by our thoughts. CBT trains you to examine the thoughts that underlie your feelings, and to recognize certain "cognitive distortions," which are faulty ways of thinking.

An example of a cognitive distortion is "discounting the positive" - looking at a situation and automatically discounting anything good about it. For me it might have been: "What did I do today? Well, I accomplished X, but that wasn't much, anyone could have done it, it doesn't count. Okay, I did Y too, but Y should have been done last week, I'm totally slacking off..."

That's just one simple example. So the book taught me how to ferret out those distortions and replace them with things that are true. CBT deals with your ways of thinking now. It's not Freud or "blame-your-mother" or anything wild and unexpected. But it works. It works best for people who like to reason through things anyway.

Which makes me wonder... are there any studies showing whether CBT works for Republicans? ;)

[CitySky]

4. can be really simple

Hi Mahaya,

This is my first post in the "Lounge," but your question seemed like one I should answer, having lived through a few bouts of depression myself.

The "screening" part is usually a simple checklist of questions. There's a good one in the book Feeling Good by Burns -- you can find that book at Borders, B&N, any major bookstore, and it's an excellent resource. When I went to doctors, the diagnostic tools they used were pretty similar to that simple checklist.

What was cool about it is, during the period I was recovering, I could run the Burns checklist a couple of times a week to check my progress. Its simplicity makes it a good indicator, like your cholestoral counts or temperature: just one number that you can track.

Good luck. Please PM me if you want more.

-Sky in Houston

[Jackpine Radical]

9. They'll probably use a Beck Depression Inventory.

It's a very simple, straightforward little questionnaire about how you feel and behave. Your responses are totalled into a numeric score. If you score above a certain level you are thought to be at risk for depression, and will be told so. They will then offer to do a more precise sort of examination. If you turn out to be diagnosable for depression, they will discuss treatment options. If they offer only meds and don't mention alternatives such as psychotherapy, go somewhere else to discuss possible treatment. They should also counsel you about getting a physical examination. Various physical conditions, e.g. hypothyroidism, can generate depressive symptoms.