How is depression diagnosed?
You can‘t tell if someone is depressed by taking blood tests or x-rays. Instead, experts in mental health have developed a system of diagnosing depression based on a checklist of signs and symptoms. This is called the DSM-IV system and was developed by the American Psychiatric Association.
According to this system, a person may have a Major Depressive Disorder if they have five symptoms most days for at least two weeks, including:
First, at least one of the following symptoms:
Several of the following to make at least 5 in total:
Problems functioning in some area of everyday living (such as at work or socially)
Sometimes symptoms like those above can be due to a physical illness or drugs. For example, certain medical conditions, illegal substances and legal medications can directly cause depression. In addition, someone with a bipolar disorder may experience periods of depression. For this reason if you have the symptoms of depression it is important to consult a knowledgeable medical practitioner for a proper diagnosis.
Click here to read about how Dysthymia is diagnosed.
Click here to read about how Bipolar Disorder is diagnosed.