Are You Depressed

What Are the Symptoms?
You may be ‘clinically’ depressed if you have most of the following symptoms:

• depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, that may be noticed by others.


• Loss of interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day


• significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day.


• insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day


• psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day


• loss of energy nearly every day


• feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt nearly every day


• diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day


• recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide

Depression Test:
Below is a common depression test developed by the psychiatrist Ivan K. Goldberg. The test result is NOT a final diagnosis! The scale cannot replace professional help. If you suspect that you might suffer from depression, you should contact your doctor, no matter what test result you get.

I have posted this test so you can see whether you have symptoms of depression or not and its severity. You can also use the scale to see if you are making progress in your recovery from depression. If you want to, you could print out the test and show it to your doctor. This might help him or her to assess your condition better.

The questions below refer to how you have felt and behaved DURING THE PAST WEEK. For each question, indicate the extent to which it is true, by using the following scale:

0 = Not at all 1 = Just a little 2 = Somewhat

3 = Moderately 4 = Quite a lot 5 = Very much

The Questions:

1. I do things slowly


2. My future seems hopeless


3. It is hard for me to concentrate on reading


4. The pleasure and joy has gone out of my life


5. I have difficulty making decisions


6. I have lost interest in aspects of life that used to be important to me


7. I feel sad, blue, and unhappy


8. I am agitated and keep moving around


9. I feel fatigued


10. It takes great effort for me to do simple things


11. I feel that I am a guilty person who deserves to be punished


12. I feel like a failure


13. I feel lifeless - - - more dead than alive


14. My sleep has been disturbed---too little, too much, or broken sleep


15. I spend time thinking about HOW I might kill myself


16. I feel trapped or caught


17. I feel depressed even when good things happen to me


18. Without trying to diet, I have lost, or gained, weight

Now add up your total score. According to Goldberg if you scored:
0-9 Depression is unlikely

10-17 Possibly minor depression

18-21 Possibly on the verge of depression

21-35 Possibly minor to moderate depression

36-53 Possibly moderate to severe depression

54+ Possibly severe depression

Please note that this test result cannot give a you guaranteed assessment of your mental health. You should always consult a doctor if you feel depressed or if you feel that worries and anxiety have taken over and affected the activities of your daily life. Seeing your doctor and getting the right treatment quickly will dramatically improve your life, and the life of those who care about you.

I sincerely hope this helps. Don’t forget you can freely post your stories and feeling of living with depression and low mood on SpeakOut’s Forums ([http://www.speakout.biz/forum]).

I wish you the best of health.