Millions of people worldwide have symptoms of clinical depression
or major depressive disorder.
Clinical depression is treatable. As a result, a depression
diagnosis can start you on the path to a healthy life.
Depression Diagnosis and Screening: Your doctor may use diagnostic,
screening, and evaluation methods to determine if you have depression.
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| Depression diagnosis and screening: current and emerging methods |
Diagnostic
Tests for Depression: How to Get an Accurate Diagnosis of Clinical Depression
Depression Diagnosis and Screening
Millions of people worldwide have
symptoms of clinical depression or major depressive disorder, they can avoid
this suffering and relieve themselves by seeking professional help, which
begins with a doctor's initial diagnosis.
If you plan to go to the doctor to
talk about depression, here, we have discussed diagnostic tests for depression
that your doctor will ask you to take.
Remember that every test is not a
test of depression. Some tests are not designed to diagnose clinical depression
but aim to rule out other mental health problems whose symptoms may be similar
to those caused by depression.
In most cases, your doctor will
perform a physical examination and ask you to do a number of laboratory tests
to make sure that your symptoms of depression are not caused by other health
problems, such as thyroid disorders or cancerous tumors.
What Do Doctors Check During a
Physical Examination?
What your doctor is trying to diagnose with a
physical exam, in order to determine your major depression?
When a doctor performs the physical
examination, he will focus primarily on identifying the presence of problems in
the nervous system or in the endocrine system.
The doctor tries to diagnose health
problems with projections and effects on symptoms that accompany clinical depression. For
example, hypothyroidism - caused by a deficiency of thyroid function - is one
of the most prevalent health problems that lead to symptoms of clinical
depression.
In addition, disorders of the
endocrine system may lead to characteristic symptoms of clinical depression,
such as hyperthyroidism or Cushing's disease.
Cushing's disease is a disorder of
overactive adrenal glands in which the pituitary gland releases too much
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).
Many diseases related to the central
nervous system or various injuries and wounds may lead to the emergence of
clinical depression and a major depressive episode.
For example, clinical
depression may appear due to one of the following factors:
Cancerous tumors of the central
nervous system
Head injuries
Multiple sclerosis
Stroke
Syphilis
Various cancers (pancreas, prostate
gland, chest)
Corticosteroid-based drugs such as
Prednisone, which are given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis or asthma,
have been shown to be associated with the onset of depressive symptoms.
Other drugs, including anabolic steroids and
Amphetamines, are stimulants, as well as over-the-counter medicines, such as
appetite suppressants, that can lead to depression or weaning symptoms.
What tests will the doctor ask you to do to
determine if you have clinical depression?
Your doctor is likely to tell you if
you have clinical depression by conducting a physical examination and by asking
focused questions.
In addition, your doctor may ask you
to perform laboratory tests to rule out this illness and deny other health
problems.
You are likely to be asked for a
number of blood tests to diagnose other health problems that may cause symptoms
of clinical depression.
The doctor will use the results of
blood tests to look for symptoms of other health problems, such as anemia,
hormone level, calcium level, and thyroid activity.
Are there additional lab tests your doctor may
ask you to do to determine if you have clinical depression?
Your doctor may include other
routine tests to determine if you are depressed. Routine blood tests may
include tests to check your blood electrolytes, liver and kidney
function.
Since the liver and kidneys are the
organs responsible for the elimination of antidepressants for clinical
depression.
This requires making sure that its
activity is healthy so that these medications do not accumulate in the body.
Other possible laboratory tests
include:
⇛Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain to rule out serious diseases,
such as tumors in the brain.
⇛Electrocardiogram (ECG) to
exclude the presence of arrhythmias and blockages of coronary arteries in the
heart.
⇛Electroencephalography (EEG),
which records electrical activity within the brain.
Are there special tests to diagnose clinical
depression?
After you talk to the doctor about
your mental condition and its effects on your daily life, your doctor may ask
you a number of questions that are part of an inspection and a survey designed
to diagnose depression.
It should be noted that the
inspection or survey is only a part of the medical methods and procedures
that the doctor can use to diagnose depression. This survey provides your
physician with information about your mental state, and your doctor may use it
to make a definitive diagnosis.
An example of one of these types of
surveys is a two-part poll, which has been shown to be an effective and
reliable way to diagnose depression.
In this test, you are asked to
answer two questions:
Were you worried about your sadness, depression
or despair last month?
Were you concerned about your lack
of interest in yourself or your loss of pleasure while doing things that you
were interested in or made you feel fun before, during the past month?
If you give the correct answer to
these two questions, this will determine what actions your doctor should take.
Your doctor may ask you some additional questions to confirm that you are
diagnosed with depression.
If your answers do not indicate that
you are suffering from depression, your doctor may ask you to re-describe your
symptoms, so that you can continue to look for the causes of these symptoms.
Research has shown that the
above-mentioned questions, especially when additional diagnostic and evaluation
tests are conducted with them, are an excellent way to diagnose most cases of
clinical depression.
Your doctor may
also use diagnostic, screening, and evaluation methods to determine if you have
depression, including:
⇒Beck Depression
Inventory (BDI) is a
self-study of 21 US questions that assesses the severity of depression based on
feelings, emotions, and symptoms.
⇒Zung
Self-Rating Depression Scale, a
short survey that identifies the degree of depression, from mild depression to
severe and major depression.
⇒Diagnostic measure at the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
⇒Center for
Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale -
CES-D, a diagnostic tool that allows the patient to assess his feelings,
behaviors, and expectations under the events of last week.
You may be uncomfortable when asked
to genuinely answer questions, or provide the information you are asked to
provide while answering survey questions or during the assessment.
The surveyor will ask you to answer
questions about your mental condition, depression, perception, and physical
symptoms that accompany clinically depression, such as lack of energy, sleep
disorders and impotence.
Try to be as frank as possible when
you talk about your symptoms. After that, your doctor will be able to
accurately diagnose your condition and give you appropriate treatment.
What should you do if your doctor determines
that you are suffering from clinical depression?
Depression is a disease that can be
treated effectively. Therefore, a diagnosis of clinical depression may lead you
to a healthier life, free from a sense of hopelessness, lack of hope and
feasibility.
After your doctor has diagnosed you
with depression, you must follow the instructions of your treatment program to
recover.
It is important that you continue to
take the medications prescribed for you according to the instructions.
It will be necessary to make changes
in your lifestyle and you have to cooperate with a psychologist.