How do you know if your depressed?

lovesabargain123

Hi there, I wasn't sure where to post this but figured here was as good anywhere but if I'm wrong please move for me.

To give you a bit of back ground around 8-10 weeks ago I slipped a disc in my back, was totally off my feet for about 2 weeks and then started moving round slowly. I then got a sore hip which popped when I walked.dr sent me for an X-ray which I haven't heard anything back from so presume fine.
Following that I was really really tired and lethargic and still in pain,I put this down to not sleeping well. I then started getting pains in my chest. Went back to the dr and had a whole heap of blood tests and a chest X-ray which I persum are clear but I was suppose to get the results today but had to cancel my appt.
Anyway, last time I saw the dr she suggested I was depressed and that's why I had been feeling tired and sluggish. I'm actually feeling 75% better now to be honest but she was pretty adamant I was probably just depressed and if this last round of blood tests are clear she would start me on anti-depressants.
The only thing is I don't think I feel depressed, I've never been depressed ( that I know of) and I'm not teary or sad. I have fabulous friends and had a great night out with the girls on Saturday. Then yesterday we had a family day in the forest which was fab. Everyone at work comments on the fact I'm always smiling and laughing and sharing a joke with someone. I did say I was a little stressed but who's not when they have 3 teenagers , one of whom are registered disabled and 2 batty dogs , then add to that a husband ( need I say more;-)
I'm really happy go lucky, go with the flow and don't have any major obvious stress at the moment!

So, what do I do? Can I tell the dr that I don't think I'm depressed, I'm a little worried that if I do she'll think I'm in denial or something??

Or could I be in denial? Do I sound like your average depressed person?

Sorry to go on but I want to be clear in my head before I go back to see her...

Thanks for taking your time to read this x

whitewing

I think some people could get depressed with everything you've gone through but if you don't think you are down then you're probably not.

Maybe get some vitamin tonic stuff from the chemist to take daily as a pick-me-up.

I am on anti-d's, they are right for me, but you don't sound like you need them from what you've posted.

(There have been articles lately about 'happy depressives' - people who don't look depressed to a casual observer. I certainly fitted into that category. Good on your doctor for raising the issue, but hopefully you won't feel pressured into anything).

RedBern

difficult one ! I think it is sometimes easy for doctors to diagnose 'you're depressed' when there's a lot going on in someone's life, and it's a catch all name. If you were tired and sluggish when you had a bad back/ hip I think it is understandable to put that down to having a bad back /hip and not getting proper sleep?

Although generalising isn't always the best, I'd say if you're getting up in the morning and facing what the day throws at you without too much fear and trepidation, you're not depressed (although I'm no doctor).

Hope that helps!

romylou_2

Hi lovesabargain,

didn't want to read and run. Depression manifests in different ways and its sometimes not that easy to spot the symptoms.

If you feel a bit stressed, and are sometimes lethargic. You could be upbeat and happy, but sometimes feel that you are teetering on the brink of tears. It may feel daft at the time, but for some unknown reason you can't stop crying.

A symptom of depression may be that you are not tired at bedtime and it takes you ages to get to sleep, or some mornings after what you think has been a good sleep, your whole body aches and you really don't feel like you have the energy nor the inclination to do anything that day.

Anit-depressants do work, however, depending on the medication itself and the dosage, may affect different people in different ways. You will need to speak to your doctor about this.

I can relate as I was housebound for a while after an injury and suffered from slight depression. I felt alone and unable to cope which is very unlike me. I wasn't able to work and leaving the house was such a struggle, i just didn't bother. Its suprising how quick depression creeps up on you.

See what you Dr has to say. I hope you are feeling better soon.
Romylou x

tori.k

Reading what you have written I dont think you are depressed well no more than the next person, as you said life is stressful I think your body has probably been telling you to slow down for a while, now it's demanding that you do.

I wonder if I would be wrong if i reckoned normally you day went something along the lines like this

Get out of bed
get the kids up & sorted for school
feed/walk the dogs
off to work
shopping
housework
oversee homework & and running the kids to afterschool clubs
cooking an evening meal
more housework
trying to find 5 mins to catch up with friends/family
to collapes in a heap shattered at 9pm...just to do it all again the next day

before you think of tablets try some me time therapy, delegate a bit more so you can take sometime out for yourself so you can unwind and chill out, do something just for you book a massage or a pick up a book youv'e been meaning to read anything that gives you a little escapism.

geoffky

Ignore the quack..You do not come across a depressed but your gp knows a little about everything but not much about anything...Do not let them bully you into taking meds....keep smiling..

wendym

GPs seem to assume that there is an unarguable link from pain to depression. I have chronic pain and am from time to time fed up, but not depressed.
Weeks of pain that disrupt your sleep don't necessarily mean you are clinically depressed, but aren't much fun either!
Does your hospital run a pain management clinic? They're a bit hit and miss, but can be really helpful as that's what they specialise in, and if you ask for a referral it might distract your GP.

j.e.j.

Hmm, I'm obviously not an expert, but no, it doesn't sound like you have depression. For someone to have depression there is a certain set of criteria and you have to have been suffering the symptoms for a certain amount of time, at least 2 or 3 weeks. I don't have the exact list, though you might be able to find it on the web. It includes things like poor concentration, constantly feeling tearful/low/down, change in appetite or sleep pattern, etc.

ska_lover

The GP's are not always right hun, they go for the cheapest easiest fix possible and tellng you are depressed is a quick way of issueing a prescription and shoving you out the door. The amount of misdiagnosis that goes on is shocking

If you dont feel depressed - you aren't.Trust me.

However, you have had a rough ride lately so may be down. Pester your doctor for your chest results and your hip results, then things may become clearer x

skintchick

Google 'Goldberg depression test' and answer the questions honestly. Then you will know.

It is perfectly possible to be depressed yet seem fine to everyone around you, sometimes even to yourself. It is called high functioning. I am like that. You wouldn't know I'm depressed.

So do the test and see what it says. Because people on a forum can say 'yes you are' or 'no you're not' but there is really only one way to find out and that is by doing a clinically approved test of your mood.

Also, there are grades of depression which that test shows up, it's not just you are either happy or suicidal, you can be mildly depressed, moderately depressed or severely depressed.

It's worth doing the test.

ska_lover

Oh I don't know about these on line tests....

Attempting to self diagnose can create more problems - I have just done that Goldbergs test and scored a 30 - so according to that, I am minor to moderately depressive.

What a load of carp.I am definately NOT depressed, not even on the verge of.

All those types of surveys will do, is make you second guess yourself. You could do the test every couple of hours, and feel differently every time - as we humans do - and come up with a multiple different scores per day.

There is a difference IMO of having a episode where you feel down - where a person may have had a bit of bad luck lately - and feeling down.

I would seriously urge folk to not try to self diagnose with these kinds of tests.

After reading this on my score:-

You have the symptoms of depression. These symptoms seem to cause a considerable amount of problems in your everyday life, and it would be advisable to consult a doctor

I should be consulting a doctor! what tosh