Depression is a mental illness that hits millions of people around the world each year, especially the youth. It can cause constant feeling of sadness and lack of motivation or enthusiasm in daily activities, which can interfere with your responsibilities or hamper every aspects of your daily life. On an average, one in every ten Americans will suffer from one depression in their lives, in some form. Many people are not sure if they are suffering from depression or just feeling down for some reason. Depression is so common among Americans that it has become the “common cold of mental health” as it is sometimes referred to by psychologists.

Depression can become serious and lead to more psychological and physiological complications if left untreated. To determine whether you are suffering from depression disorder, there is a simple test that can diagnose your mental state and determine what steps you can take to address the problem.

Are you suffering from depression?

Depression is more than a feeling of sadness or being fed up with things for several days. When you are suffering from depression, you feel sad for months or weeks, instead of for a few days. It’s a real mental disease with real symptoms. The symptoms of depression can be different in different people and may vary in a wide variety of behaviors. There are symptoms both physical and mental that can range from feeling sadness to constant feeling of tiredness, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, reduced sex drive and so on. To find out if you are suffering from depression or not, there are several questions that you need to answer. Depending on how you score on the test, you could determine whether or not you have the mental disorder.

Self diagnosis of depression quiz

1. Do you have trouble sleeping?
2. Do you sleep too much?
3. Do you feel tired and run down most of the time?
4. Do you work slower than most other people?
5. Do you feel hopeless about your future?
6. Do you have difficulty concentrating or reading?
7. Do you feel that nothing interests you anymore?
8. Do you have difficulty feeling excited to do things that used to be fun?
9. Are you feeling guilty about something that you can’t console?
10. Have you lost appetite?
11. Have you stopped hanging out with your friends?
12. Do you feel that you have alcohol or drug related problems?
13. Do you get irritated or angry very easily without reason?
14. Are you having trouble with relationship?
15. Do you often fake happiness to hide your mental state?
16. How would you rate your self esteem?
17. Do you feel like you are a failure?
18. Are you suicidal?
19. Do you have trouble making decisions?
20. Do you feel caught or trapped in a relationship or dead end job?

Answering yes to some of these questions or all of them would mean you have some levels of depression disorder. You can take detailed diagnostic quiz at DepressedTest.com to find out how severe your disorder is.

Help & depression treatment options

You just cannot snap out of depression by getting yourself back together. You need professional help and constant counseling and most of the time you require the right kind of treatment to recover fully from depression disorders. Some life changing events in your life such as losing your job, losing your partner, or some accidents can also trigger depression. If you have depression in your family history, you may become more vulnerable to the disorder. But, there are people who suffer from depression for no such apparent reasons. The sooner you seek professional help, the sooner you can get on your way to recovery and living a normal life.

If you have self diagnosed and found out that you are suffering from depression disorder, you should see a doctor without delay. Some medication or combination of medication and counseling can be effective for treating depress

1. Join a self help group

Joining a self help group and talking about our depression and mental state may improve your emotional disorders a lot. They can help you identify the level of your disorder and the steps needed to overcome your mental state.

2. Exercise

Exercising regularly is one of the major tools that have been proven to improve your mental and physical state. if you are suffering from mild depression or anxiety, physical workout sessions can significantly lower your depression by releasing cortisol. By joining a gym and talking to your physical trainer about a workout routines specifically designed to lower depression can help you recover from mild depression symptoms.

3. Take antidepressants

There are many different types of antidepressants available in the market. Talk to your doctor about taking these medications.

4. Seek mental treatment

For severe depression disorder, you might need to undergo therapy from a professional. Seek mental treatments that have a combination of talking therapy and medication designed to help individuals with severe mental disorders.

Just like any other illness, depression is also a mental disease that needs attention. once you find out that you are suffering from a mental disorder such as depression, seek help from experts without delay, or it might interfere with your normal life leading to further complications.

Source: Balanced Life Team