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The most accurate test for depression. Clinical tests to determine the level of depression and anxiety online

With this test you can find out with a 100% guarantee whether you have depression. If it turns out that it does not exist, read the article at least so that you know how to convincingly simulate this illness if something happens.

Andrey Nevtonov

Attention. If you came here just for the test, you will find it below. But first, let’s talk a little about what depression is.

At all times, there were diseases with beautiful names, which were not so prestigious to be ill with - rather, it was fashionable to say that you have them, or to replace real ailments with them. As soon as you said “monstrous influenza” instead of “terrible snot”, those around you immediately began to respect you and your delicate organization.

Today, the disease that everyone talks about, often without understanding the original meaning of the name, has become. It’s customary to blame everything on her: impotence, missed emergency jobs, and reluctance to go to an alumni reunion. At the same time, few people know that depression is a very specific illness caused by such complex biochemical changes in the nervous system that an ordinary person cannot cause them even for money. It is actually quite difficult to contract depression, and what is considered to be depression is, as a rule, a depressive accentuation of the personality, a bad mood, or even ordinary hatred of people.

Do you want to know the whole truth about whether you have depression? You have two scenarios to choose from: either you go to a psychoanalyst, and he gives you a clinical test that is 100% guaranteed to diagnose depression; or you pass exactly the same clinical test that we took as a souvenir when we went to get checked ourselves.

Yes, and keep in mind: the causes of depression are usually very specific - prolonged mental stress, overwork, chronic brain injury, severe and long-term diseases of internal organs, surgical operations, lack of blood supply to the brain and congenital neurochemical disorders. If you don’t have and never had any of the above, then most likely there’s no need for any tests. Just stop pretending to be depressed and it will go away!

According to the international classification of diseases “ICD-10”, depression is not even one disease, but seven different ones. In the sense that it is divided into groups.

Due to the occurrence

Neurotic D., caused by internal conflict. Reactive D., which is a reaction to mental trauma. Endogenous D., which is generally easy to treat, since it has neurochemical causes.

According to the nature of the flow

Classic D. Hidden D.

By severity

Small D. Large D.

Of course, these types can be combined. For example, major depression can be both classical and reactive. But that's not all. Only for MAXIM readers! Having caught hidden depression, you get two more types of the disease as a gift!

Jokes aside. Hidden depression can be somatized (this is when, in addition to a bad mood, you are tormented by some physical ailment such as stomach disease or dystonia) or masked. In this case, you will have all the symptoms of another disease - for example, appendicitis. However, an autopsy will show that you didn't have it.

What illnesses does depression like to disguise itself as?

1. Abdominal syndrome

Pain, heaviness, bloating, cold or heat in the abdomen, nausea, loss of appetite. Of course, the culprit could really be expired mold on the cheese. However, depression often uses these symptoms to lead doctors down the wrong path. The condition of your stomach worsens in the morning, and by the afternoon you again begin to pick at the contents of your plate with a sad look, feeling relieved. Patients are admitted to hospitals with suspected acute appendicitis and cholecystitis, but surgical intervention does not bring relief.

2. Headache

A person cannot say where exactly it hurts. More often, the pain appears to him in the form of iron hoops squeezing the skull, or something that is crawling inside the head. The condition, as in the case of the stomach, worsens in the morning and goes away in the evening. Such patients are diagnosed with “migraine” or “vegetative-vascular dystonia”, and then they take useless painkillers for years.

3. Facial pain

Sly depression mimics trigeminal neuralgia (it runs from the ear to the eyebrow and lower jaw) and inflammation of the temporomandibular joint. Desperate patients ask dentists to remove their completely healthy teeth, which sometimes, by the way, brings temporary relief. The mask of depression also causes a surprisingly vivid sensation of roughness and hairiness of the tongue.

4. Cardialgia

Imitation of interruptions in the functioning of the heart, burning or cold behind the sternum. The results of the cardiogram do not correspond to the patient’s complaints, but out of pity the doctors prescribe him heart medications. They reduce pain, but do not remove it completely.

5. Arthralgia

You think that you have radiculitis, joint diseases and neuralgia. But the doctors, having looked at your x-ray, twist their finger at your temple. At the same time, your joints hurt not where they should be, but a few centimeters higher.

6. Insomnia

Depression without sleep disorders is like Fyodor Konyukhov without legs. Moreover, sometimes insomnia may be the only symptom of masked depression. In this case, you will wake up unrested, have breakfast with an aversion to food, and then arrive at work already tired and immediately turn to a cigarette or a cup of coffee. Peaks of activity are possible, but usually they occur at 10-12 o'clock in the morning, and at this time you are still sleeping, because in the evening, despite being tired, you could not sleep and tossed and turned all night. And so every day.

7. Phobias

You understand that there are no sharks in soup, and the majority of aliens do not want to kill you. But this does not help overcome groundless fear. However, exotic phobias are rarely characteristic of depression. More often it causes fear of death from cessation of breathing, panic attacks. The phobia usually intensifies at night and in the morning.

8. Sexual disorders

Weakening erection? Accelerated or, conversely, delayed ejaculation? Don't rush to bequeath your penis to science. Perhaps it is again a matter of depression. By the way, the famous “devil in the rib” (or, in scientific terms, the desire for increasingly strong sexual stimuli) is also a sign of depression, and usually the earliest one.

9. Drug addiction and alcoholism

Indulging in bad habits brings short-term relief. A hangover or withdrawal symptoms are accompanied by monstrously violent symptoms taken from the previous eight points.

Clinical test for depression

Instructions

There are 44 groups of statements in front of you. In each of them, choose one answer option that best describes how you feel. Remember, your task is not to win, but to find out the truth. Answer sincerely. To make it easier for you to do this, we didn’t even intrusively “make fun” of the answers, as we usually do.

Test

Depression

1/44

How to deal with depression

This part will be of interest primarily to people who have scored significant amounts in the test. If, according to the results, you do not have depression, you can read this block with detached schadenfreude. So, getting out of a sad state on your own can take months and even years, and even then only on condition that you protect yourself from stress - preferably with a monastery wall or grove of palm trees. It’s easier to see a doctor, because depression is treatable. In fact, it is a metabolic failure. Doctors will treat you not only with pills, but also with intimate conversations (the most unpleasant part). Without the simultaneous elimination of physiological and psychological factors, it is impossible to cure a person.

Your best friend for the next six months should be a psychotherapist. Experienced mental trauma, mental stress, quarrels with others and internal conflicts, difficult worries about one’s own health - all this can be the basis of depression. Treatment only with powerful pills (without psychotherapy), of course, helps, but after stopping the drugs, the disease can visit you again.

What will they give you?

Sometimes particularly skilled psychotherapists lift their unfortunate patients out of depression without medication at all. Unfortunately, in some cases it is impossible to do without medication: an advanced disease destroys the brain so much that the balance of neurotransmitters is not restored on its own.

Antidepressants

The basis of any course of treatment. Side effects and doses may vary, but the drugs have one purpose - to eliminate the biochemical basis of depression.

Vitamins and biostimulants

And these useful pills will help you improve the supply of energy and other useful little things to your brain cells. Actually, these are not some secret substances, but the same vitamins that healthy people drink to increase stress resistance and immunity.

Tranquilizers

These powerful medications alone do not cure depression. But they struggle with its symptoms (and sometimes even succeed in this): melancholy, fear, bodily manifestations. Antidepressants do not have an immediate effect, so to make it more fun for you to wait for it, the doctor will probably prescribe you “trunks”.

Neuroleptics

In fact, these are ordinary sedatives, but they are so strong that they can drive even an elephant into a calm state, which has just lost all its relatives, both tusks and a share in the business. Neuroleptics reduce arousal and eliminate fears, remove the patient from a mental impasse and reduce the physical manifestations of masked depression.

However, it may not come to neuroleptics. Doctors usually start the course with a cocktail of antidepressants and biostimulants. And only if it doesn’t work, two other components are added.

Why might this not help?

Pills are almost useless if the psychotherapist has not eliminated the personal causes of depression - for example, he has not forced you to quit.

You have untreated thyroid disease, diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses that cause depression.

You stopped the course too early, overjoyed at the improvement. If you stop taking antidepressants before they have a lasting effect, depression will develop again.

Sometimes the disease returns a year or two after completing the course, because you stopped seeing a doctor and taking antidepressants for preventive purposes. And they give you the test again...

Sheehan Anxiety Scale

If the first test gives a negative result, proceed to the second. The Sheehan test will help you find out whether you have at least anxiety, a condition that precedes depression. If you don’t score enough points here, then, alas, you are a mentally healthy person who now only needs to come up with new excuses for your impotence and innate laziness.

Symptoms

Sudden nervous breakdowns

Appetite disturbance

Constant mood swings

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Constant search for meaning

Psychosomatic pain

Light therapy;

Test for symptoms of depression

Depression is a real scourge of our time. Sooner or later, every tenth man, as well as every fifth woman, encounters its manifestations. Depression is insidious, unpredictable, and can strike a person at any age, at any point in his life. The signs and symptoms of depression are varied and can vary greatly depending on the type of illness. Naturally, each of us has a bad mood or stressful situations when we don’t want to do anything. How can you tell if you have depression or if you shouldn’t worry yet?

In any form of this mental disorder, there are three signs that are necessarily present:

loss of all interests, as well as joy in life;
increased irritability (or low mood);
reduced level of activity in all areas: personal, cognitive, behavioral.

In addition, severe somatic manifestations are often observed in depression. These can be headaches of various localizations, rapid heartbeat, stomach and heart pain, sleep disorders, and lack of appetite.

In advanced cases of this disease, a person is faced with even more serious manifestations: decreased intelligence, weakened memory, significant weakening of will, absent-mindedness, problems with speech and perception of the outside world. If depression is not treated, then general depression, bad mood, combined with progressive apathy and lack of will, can provoke in the patient a desire to commit suicide through suicide attempts.

If the three main signs of a depressive state are observed in a person for more than 6 months, then a logical question arises: how to distinguish a depressive state from ordinary fatigue or emotional decline? This is where a test for signs of depression comes to the rescue, specially developed by specialists to determine the presence and degree of a possible depressive state.

What is the diagnosis of depression based on? When developing this test, psychologists relied on the most common symptoms and signs of depression, regardless of the type of disease. These manifestations remain unchanged both in the initial stage of this mental illness and in advanced depressive states.

This test is equally effective for both men and women. It diagnoses not only depression itself, but also the presence of a predepressive state. Thus, by passing this test, a person can recognize the symptoms of an incipient disease in time and take the necessary measures to eliminate it.

Nervous exhaustion refers to a specific mental and emotional state that occurs as a result of stress and excessive stress. Typically, this condition can be both a sign of depression and its precursor. In essence, this is a weakening of the body, aggravated by intoxication, lack of rest, poor nutrition or some kind of disease.

Signs of depression and nervous exhaustion

How does nervous exhaustion manifest?

The main symptom of the condition is endless fatigue. An exhausted person always wants to sleep, and any little thing throws him off balance and provokes a nervous breakdown. And if you don’t give yourself proper rest, exhaustion can lead to the most serious consequences, even a ruined life.

Nervous exhaustion - manifestations

The described phenomenon can develop as a result of strong and prolonged stress of both a psychological and mental nature. A person is simply unable to withstand them, which is why symptoms such as chronic fatigue, loss of performance, mental disorders, somatic and autonomic disorders arise.

A person develops chronic fatigue and other consequences of nervous exhaustion

All symptoms are divided into two types:

Let's look at them in more detail.

Mental symptoms

These include overwork, in which various functional disorders are observed in the body. First of all, it negatively affects the nervous system.

External manifestations

External manifestations of nervous exhaustion

They are more diverse, although in most cases they do not go beyond the characteristic categories.

Pay attention! In general, all signs are exclusively collective in nature, which consists of a combination of manifestations.

But, again, the main symptoms are problems with sleep and general fatigue.

Fatigue and sleep problems

Sleep disturbance can hardly be considered a disease, since insomnia affects everyone. For many, sleep is disturbed due to nervous overstrain during the day and, characteristically, these emotions can be not only negative, but also positive. The main indicator is the intensity of the experience. We also note that insomnia can also occur during the daytime, i.e. during wakefulness, a person can fall asleep right at work. To normalize sleep, you need to learn to calm down and rest.

Lethargy and decreased performance

Video – Nervous exhaustion

Symptoms of depression

Depression is a long-term disturbance of emotional balance that significantly impairs a person’s quality of life. It can develop as a reaction to bad events (such as someone’s death, job loss, etc.), but quite often it occurs without obvious reasons.

Depression and anxiety

There are two important points to be aware of.

Realizing your problem and talking about it means taking the first step towards recovery.
Treating depression is a relatively simple procedure.

Depression requires treatment

As for the typical signs of this condition, they include:

thoughts of suicide;
sadness, melancholy and anxiety;
excessive concern about one's health;
problems sleeping (a person may wake up very early);
migraines, back or heart pain;
loss of interest in food, work and sex;
weight loss/gain;
feelings of failure, hopelessness and guilt;
problems with concentration;
permanent fatigue.

Pay attention to symptoms of depression

Depression in men

It is quite difficult to recognize depression in representatives of the stronger sex. This is explained by the fact that, firstly, many people mistakenly believe that sharing their problems with someone is a sign of weakness, and secondly, men tend to hide a depressive state behind alcohol abuse and aggressiveness. In addition, a person can actively play sports, throw himself into work, or get carried away by gambling. And all these are clear signs of male depression.

Depression in men

So, the described state can be recognized by:

burnout syndrome;
instability to stress;
thoughts of death, suicide;

Thoughts about suicide

Aggression and impulsiveness

Depression in women

According to statistics, female depression is much more common than male depression. It is difficult to determine why this happens, although most psychiatrists (in particular, this is discussed in “Depression” written by V.L. Minutko) believe that gender is not a biological prerequisite for the disorder being described.

And the cause of a large percentage of female depression is considered to be social preconditions present in any society. Women are more often exposed to stress and visit doctors more often, which, in fact, explains these statistics.

Pay attention! Childhood depression occurs equally often, but already in adolescence, girls emerge as “leaders”.

Signs of depression and nervous exhaustion - test

Let's look at the two most popular tests to assess your mental state.

Test for signs of depression

Depression Recognition Scale

Have there been any changes in your behavior in the last 30 days? And if there were, which ones exactly? Try to answer all questions as honestly as possible.

Table. How to recognize depression - rating scale

After answering all the questions, count the number of points you scored:

0-13 – you apparently do not have depression;
14-26 – primary symptoms of this condition are observed;
27-39 – depression is pronounced, you should immediately consult a doctor.

This scale will help identify depression in record time. You must fill out the scale yourself by circling the required numbers in each of the points, and then add up the points.

Beck Depression Questionnaire

The test presented below was created by A. T. Beck back in 1961. This test includes several dozen statements, and you must choose from among the options the one that best characterizes your current state. You can choose two options at once.

0 – I don’t feel any upset or sadness.

1 – I’m a little upset.

2 – I am constantly upset, I have no strength to overcome this condition.

3 – I’m so unhappy that I can’t stand it.

0 – I am not worried about my future.

1 – I am somewhat puzzled about my future.

2 – I think there is no point in expecting anything from the future.

3 – I don’t expect anything from the future, no changes will happen.

0 – I can hardly be called a failure.

1 – I have experienced more failures than my friends.

2 – There have been a lot of failures in my life.

3 – I am an exceptional and complete failure.

0 – I am as satisfied with my life as before.

1 – There is less pleasure in my life than before.

2 – Nothing satisfies me anymore.

3 – Dissatisfied with life, everything is already enough.

0 – I don’t think I’m guilty of anything.

1 – I often feel guilty.

2 – I often suffer from feelings of guilt.

3 – I always feel guilty.

0 – It’s unlikely that I need to be punished for anything.

1 – I may probably be punished.

2 – Waiting to be punished.

3 – I guess I’ve already been punished.

0 – I am not disappointed in myself.

1 – Disappointed in myself.

2 – I’m disgusted with myself.

3 – I hate myself.

0 – I’m definitely no worse than others.

1 – I often engage in self-flagellation for weakness and mistakes I have made.

2 – I constantly blame myself for my own actions.

3 – All the negative things that happen to me are my fault.

0 – I have not had any thoughts of suicide.

1 – Sometimes I want to commit suicide, but I won’t do it.

2 – I wanted to commit suicide.

3 – I would commit suicide if I had the opportunity.

0 – I cry as often as before.

2 – I cry constantly.

3 – I cried before, but now I can’t even with a strong desire.

0 – I am as irritable as ever.

1 – For some reason I get irritated more often.

2 – Irritability is my normal state.

3 – Everything that caused irritation is now indifferent.

0 – Sometimes I delay making decisions.

1 – I put off acceptance more often than before.

2 – It became difficult for me to make any decisions.

3 – I can’t make a single decision.

0 – I am still interested in others.

1 – I’m a little less interested in them.

2 – I am practically not interested in anyone except myself.

3 – I have no interest in others.

0 – I look the same as before.

1 – I am becoming old and unattractive.

2 – My appearance has changed significantly, I am no longer attractive.

3 – My appearance is simply disgusting.

0 – I work no worse than before.

1 – I have to make extra efforts.

2 – With great difficulty I force myself to perform this or that action.

3 – I can’t do anything.

0 – My sleep is still fine.

1 – I’ve been sleeping a little worse lately.

2 – I started waking up earlier, after which I have difficulty falling asleep.

3 – I started waking up earlier, after which I can no longer sleep.

0 – I’m just as tired as before.

1 – I noticed that fatigue comes faster.

2 – I get tired of everything, no matter what I do.

3 – Unable to do anything, and fatigue is to blame.

0 – My appetite has not worsened at all.

1 – He has deteriorated a little.

2 – He has deteriorated very much.

3 – No appetite at all.

0 – Haven’t lost weight or lost a little in recent weeks.

1 – I lost a maximum of two kilograms.

2 – Lost no more than five kilograms.

3 – Lost more than seven kilograms.

I'm trying to lose weight and eat less (check as appropriate).

0 – My concerns about my own health have not changed at all.

1 – I am worried, I am worried about pain, constipation, stomach upsets, etc.

2 – I worry more and find it difficult to concentrate on anything else.

3 – I worry a lot about this, unable to concentrate on anything else.

0 – Sex is still interesting to me.

1 – I am less interested in intersexual intimacy.

2 – This intimacy interests me much less.

3 – My interest in the opposite sex has disappeared.

How to process the results?

Each item must be scored from 0 to 3. The total score can range from 0 to 63, the lower it is, the better the person’s condition.

The results are interpreted as follows:

from 0 to 9 – no depression;
from 10 to 15 – mild depressive state;
from 16 to 19 – moderate;
from 20 to 29 – average depression;
from 30 to 63 – severe form of depression.

If you notice symptoms of depression, you must immediately consult a doctor. As for treatment, it can be done both with the help of psychotherapeutic methods and with the use of medications.

See a psychologist for support and treatment for depression

Depression test (Beck scale)

According to statistical studies, depression is one of the most common diseases throughout the world, ranking alongside cardiovascular diseases. Constant anxiety and stress, as constant companions of an active modern person, cannot but affect his psychological well-being.

It is not without reason that many scientists call depression a disease of our time, from which millions of people suffer. It is important to understand that depression is not just a bad mood or “loss of energy”, but a complex mental disorder that has specific signs and symptoms.

For a qualitative diagnosis of depression, signs and symptoms are identified that make up the “depressive triad”:

loss of the ability to rejoice,
negative thinking and pessimism,
retardation in movements.

These main symptoms complement many other signs, the presence of which you can determine for yourself by taking the Beck Depression Inventory test for depression. You can do this online now and find out if you need to seek the help of a specialist for a more in-depth investigation.

The Beck Depression Inventory is a 21-item, multiple-choice online questionnaire for depression. These items include specific signs and symptoms of depression, and response options reflect the severity of the symptom. Your task is to choose one answer option that accurately characterizes your condition over the past two weeks along with today.

Do not forget that only a specialist can make an accurate diagnosis, so do not draw hasty conclusions on your own.

Test: Are you depressed or just in a bad mood?

At all times, there have been diseases with beautiful names, which were not so prestigious to be ill with - rather, it was fashionable to say that you have them, or to replace real ailments with them. As soon as you said “monstrous influenza” instead of “terrible snot”, those around you immediately began to respect you and your fine organization.

Today, the disease that everyone talks about, often without understanding the original meaning of the name, is depression. It’s customary to blame everything on her: impotence, missed emergency jobs, and reluctance to go to an alumni reunion. At the same time, few people know that depression is a very specific illness caused by such complex biochemical changes in the nervous system that an ordinary person cannot cause them even for money. It is actually quite difficult to contract depression, and what is considered to be depression is, as a rule, a depressive accentuation of the personality, a bad mood, or even ordinary hatred of people.

Yes, and keep in mind: the causes of depression are usually very specific - prolonged mental stress, overwork, chronic brain injury, severe and long-term diseases of internal organs, surgical operations, lack of blood supply to the brain and congenital neurochemical disorders. If you don’t have and haven’t had any of the above, then most likely you don’t need any tests. Just stop pretending to be depressed and it will go away!

What is depression like?

According to the international classification of diseases “ICD-10”, depression is not even one disease, but seven different ones. In the sense that it is divided into groups.

Due to the occurrence

Neurotic D., caused by internal conflict.

Reactive D., which is a reaction to mental trauma.

Endogenous D., which is generally not difficult to treat, since it has neurochemical causes.

According to the nature of the flow

What illnesses does depression like to disguise itself as?

2 Headache

Depression without sleep disorders is like Fyodor Konyukhov without legs. Moreover, sometimes insomnia may be the only symptom of masked depression. In this case, you will wake up unrested, have breakfast with an aversion to food, and then arrive at work already tired and immediately turn to a cigarette or a cup of coffee. Peaks of activity are possible, but usually they occur at 10–12 o’clock in the morning, and at this time you are still sleeping, because in the evening, despite being tired, you could not sleep and tossed and turned all night. And so every day.

8 Sexual disorders

9 Drug addiction and alcoholism

Indulging in bad habits brings short-term relief. A hangover or withdrawal symptoms are accompanied by monstrously violent symptoms taken from the previous eight points.

Clinical test for depression

How to deal with depression

This part will be of interest primarily to people who have scored significant amounts in the test. If, according to the results, you do not have depression, you can read this block with detached schadenfreude. So, getting out of a gloomy state on your own can take months and even years, and only on the condition that you protect yourself from stress - preferably with a monastery wall or a grove of palm trees. It’s easier to see a doctor, because depression is treatable. In fact, it is a metabolic failure. Doctors will treat you not only with pills, but also with intimate conversations (the most unpleasant part). Without the simultaneous elimination of physiological and psychological factors, it is impossible to cure a person.

Your best friend for the next six months should be a psychotherapist. Experienced mental trauma, mental stress, quarrels with others and internal conflicts, difficult experiences about one’s own health - all this can be the basis of depression. Treatment only with powerful pills (without psychotherapy), of course, helps, but after stopping the drugs, the disease can visit you again.

What will they give you?

The basis of any course of treatment. Side effects and dosages may vary, but the drugs have one purpose - to eliminate the biochemical basis of depression.

Vitamins and biostimulants

However, it may not come to neuroleptics. Doctors usually start the course with a cocktail of antidepressants and biostimulants. And only if it doesn’t work, two other components are added.

Why might this not help?

Pills are almost useless if the psychotherapist has not eliminated the personal causes of depression - for example, he has not forced you to quit.

Sheehan Anxiety Scale

Masked depression: symptoms and treatment

A special type of psychological disorder is latent depression. In modern psychology, it is also known as somatized depression, masked depression and somatogenic depression.

The insidiousness of the disease lies in the fact that a person, in addition to a psychological disorder, experiences physical pain and inconvenience. The effectiveness of treatment depends entirely on the correctness of the diagnosis.

Hidden depression is often hidden behind physical illnesses, which is why it is called somatic. Sometimes a person begins to experience pain symptoms of unknown origin. Scientists claim that the cause of physical illness is a spiritual disorder that manifests itself through diseases of the body. With a correct diagnosis, only a psychotherapist can restore good physical condition and eliminate the symptoms of masked depression.

Symptoms

Symptoms of latent depression most often manifest themselves in the form of psychogenic pain: this can be a headache or toothache, discomfort in the joints, or cervical migraine. A person may also experience vegetative-vascular disorders: tachycardia, dizziness and heaviness in the body. Signs of hidden depression look like this:

Subdepressive state is not always noticeable to others

People suffering from masked mental disorder do not always show their inner state. First of all, they do this so as not to disturb their loved ones. Patients have learned to hide their condition under the guise of calm and satisfaction with life.

Sudden nervous breakdowns

Somatized depression often gives rise to outbursts of emotions. An always calm person can suddenly burst into tears or scream sharply, for no apparent reason. After such an explosion of emotions, the patient again becomes calm and balanced.

Appetite disturbance

Hidden depression is often accompanied by a complete refusal to eat, or vice versa, increased appetite. Patients with mental disorders very often try to compensate for their worries by changing their taste preferences. Relatives should be wary of a sudden change in gastronomic preferences for no apparent reason.

Insomnia or vice versa, constant sleepiness

Sleep disturbance is a clear sign of depression. A person suffering from this disease can rarely boast of healthy and restful sleep. Patients mainly suffer from insomnia, cannot fall asleep for a long time and then fall into a borderline state between sleep and reality. There are often cases when a person sleeps more than 10 hours a day and does not get enough sleep.

Uncontrolled use of medications

Some people, trying to get rid of a depressed state, begin to take various antidepressants on their own. As a result, the low-grade disorder takes on a chronic form and is more difficult to treat.

Constant mood swings

A person who has just been cheerful and sociable can plunge into heavy thoughts or even cry. People experiencing an internal crisis can experience several mood swings in one day.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Masked depression of a neurotic nature is often accompanied by a syndrome of obsessive movements. A patient with a hidden disorder may tap on the table, count floors in houses, twitch his neck or bite his lips. People who make repetitive movements most often have internal problems of a psychological nature.

Constant search for meaning

A depressed person cannot enjoy a good day or success at work; he is constantly busy thinking about finding the meaning of life. Such thoughts make him sad, thoughts about imminent death only aggravate his depressive state.

Psychosomatic pain

Somatic manifestations of depression are expressed in bodily pain of unknown origin. A complete diagnosis does not answer what caused the health problems. Imaginary sciatica or headache is a clear example of hidden depression. One of the main problems of people experiencing symptoms of somatized depression is that they do not want to admit even to themselves that they need psychological help.

How to get rid of hidden depression

The first step to getting rid of the disease is a consultation with a psychotherapist who will select the right treatment. Somatic symptoms of depression cannot be ignored; this is fraught with serious consequences. The causes of subdepression can be internal and external. Internal reasons include: low self-esteem, loss of meaning in life, and more. External reasons are financial problems, troubles at work, divorce from a loved one, housing instability, sexual dissatisfaction. If you cannot cope with problems on your own, and communication with friends does not bring the desired result, there is only one way out - seek help from a specialist. A psychotherapist will clearly explain what hidden depression is and help you deal with it on a professional level.

Treatment of masked depression should begin with a complete diagnosis of the patient. After all pathological diseases are completely excluded, therapy for the hidden disorder begins. In cases of mild illness, the attending physician will recommend non-drug treatment, which includes:

Psychotherapy, which is carried out in the form of individual or group sessions;
Light therapy;
Magnetic and transcranial stimulation and more.

Somatized depression in its advanced form is treated with tranquilizers and antidepressants. Only the attending physician should draw up a course of treatment, taking into account the general condition of the patient. It is strictly forbidden to take sedatives on your own, as they have a lot of contraindications and can cause complications. If all doctor's recommendations are followed, treatment of latent depression has a favorable prognosis. Getting rid of the disease is not easy, which is why an integrated approach to treatment is so important. Psychological help, support from loved ones and, if necessary, drug therapy will allow the patient to look at the world with completely different eyes.

The appearance of the first signs of depression cannot be ignored. There can be many reasons that cause a state of mental discomfort: from loss of meaning in life to financial problems. The first symptoms of an internal crisis are sleep disturbances, lethargy and irritability, loss of appetite, and psychosomatic pain. A timely diagnosis and proper treatment will allow you to get rid of this unpleasant disease and live a full life.

Beck Depression Test

A person experiences daily stress when encountering conflict situations both at work and in family relationships. Under the influence of stress factors, symptoms of apathy and depressive disorder develop. According to scientific data, more than forty-five percent of the population of our planet has depression. The same statistics indicate that this disease is more common among the fairer sex.

It should be noted that depressive syndrome has many different forms of manifestation, which greatly complicates its diagnosis. For this purpose, the Beck Depression Scale is used, which allows us to determine not only the presence of the disease, but also its severity. In this article, we propose to familiarize yourself with this diagnostic tool and learn about the features of its use.

The Beck Depression Inventory was one of the first tests created to assess depression.

What is depressive disorder

Depressive syndrome is one of the most common mental disorders today. According to statistics, in the modern world more than a million people have various symptoms of this disease. Depressive disorder is a serious illness, the lack of attention to which can cause irreversible changes in the psyche.

The presence of depression leads to disruption of the immune system, a feeling of chronic fatigue and decreased libido. The above symptoms of depression include various somatic diseases, which manifest themselves under the influence of internal and external factors. According to experts, the development of the disease is accompanied by severe mental suffering, which is reflected in the patient’s behavior pattern. Thus, depressive disorder changes a person's attitude towards the world around him.

Most people take depressive disorder too lightly. This disease is often compared to headache attacks that are episodic in nature. This is why many patients avoid visiting a specialist, hoping that the symptoms of depression will disappear on their own. Lack of attention to the disease leads to the development of a severe mental disorder, which affects the perception of the world around us. Under the pressure of the disease, many patients with severe depression exhibit suicidal tendencies. That is why it is very important to know not only about the presence of the disease, but also about its severity. Let's look at how it is measured.

Depression scale

The Beck Depression Inventory is a diagnostic tool that takes the form of a questionnaire. The use of this scale allows you to determine the presence of the disease and the degree of its severity. Today, this tool is one of the most popular and reliable solutions for determining the state of the human psyche. A special feature of the Beck scale is that the test taker chooses the answers to all test questions independently. Each question has three answer options, the choice of which determines the result. It is important to pay attention to the fact that you must answer the questions extremely honestly.

The diagnostic technique under consideration refers to universal tools that are used regardless of the gender and age of the patient. The creator of this technique is American psychotherapist Aaron Beck, who devoted his entire life to the study of depressive disorder. The questionnaire used to diagnose depression was created in the early sixties of the last century. However, even today this diagnostic method has not lost its relevance.

According to statistical studies, depression is one of the most common diseases worldwide

Among the questions in the test, the most striking signs of a mental disorder are veiled. Each of them is a unique indicator of the severity of depression. Such questions help the psychologist determine the presence of the disease, its severity and form of expression.

What does the scale look like?

The depression questionnaire consists of twenty-one questions, each of which is based on signs of the presence of a depressive disorder. According to experts, this method is unique because it is based on two criteria:

The first is somatic signs of a mental disorder, among which disturbances in the sexual sphere, night sleep and the process of eating should be highlighted.
The second is affective-cognitive symptoms, which are characteristic of a disease such as psychosis, which has a manic-depressive form of severity.

The above signs are hidden in certain points of the test. This technique involves a detailed analysis of patient responses, on the basis of which a preliminary diagnosis is established. A number equal to sixty-three is the maximum final score in this test. This result indicates the presence of a severe form of the disease that requires immediate treatment. Otherwise, there is a high risk to the patient's health.

The overwhelming majority of questions take the form of a statement, “I act like this” or “I feel like this.” Examples of test questions include “I can perform my job duties with the same quality as before.” The answers to this question look like this:

For each answer, the subject receives from zero to three points. It is important to note that the Beck scale can be used independently. By taking a test on the Internet, you can not only identify the presence of depression, but also determine its severity. However, many experts recommend undergoing such testing from a competent psychotherapist. Based on tests, if necessary, an experienced doctor can determine a treatment strategy and help get rid of the signs of a mental disorder.

Depression is not just a bad mood or “loss of energy”, but a complex mental disorder that has specific signs and symptoms

The diagnostic method under consideration is available to everyone who wants to take a psychological test in order to assess the state of their own psyche. It is important to note that taking the test can help increase your self-esteem. The Beck Depression Test is not recommended to be taken alone. A specialist or a close relative must necessarily take part in this process. This approach to diagnosis allows you to assess your own condition “through someone else’s eyes.”

Most often, the instrument in question is used in diagnosing teenage depression. According to statistics, representatives of the pubertal age group are the main candidates for the risk group. This fact can be proven by recalling recent events, when many young people in closed groups on social networks committed suicide en masse. The main audience of such communities were school-age children and students who suffered from a feeling of dissatisfaction with their own lives. The lack of attention and love from my parents forced me to look for their missing feelings on the Internet. Participation in the group was interpreted as a game, the goal of which was to attempt suicide.

According to experts, most of these fatal incidents could have been prevented with timely therapeutic intervention. This is precisely why the Beck Depression Test is used, which allows you to assess your mental state at any age, be it a schoolchild, a teenager or an adult. Taking the test allows you to promptly determine the presence of signs of a mental disorder and begin treatment.

Interpretation of responses

From zero to nine points

The author of this diagnostic test used his own method of interpreting the answers. If, as a result of testing, the subject scores from zero to nine points, this indicates the absence of signs of depression. In this case, the presence of mild signs of depressive disorder is allowed, which are of little significance and do not require psychotherapeutic intervention. Most often, such symptoms disappear on their own after a short period of time.

Ten to fifteen points

A score of ten to fifteen points indicates the presence of signs of depressive disorder at the initial stage of development. This condition is referred to in medicine as “subdepression.” In rare cases, this form of the disease is accompanied by disturbances in the social sphere and affects the patient’s worldview. In this case, the patient needs medical supervision from a psychologist who will observe the development of symptoms. It is very important to promptly prevent the development of a severe form of the syndrome and take full control of changes in the behavioral model.

The Beck Inventory is a depression test in the form of a questionnaire.

From sixteen to nineteen points

An indicator ranging from sixteen to nineteen points indicates that the subject has a depressive disorder of moderate severity. It is important to note that most of the symptoms of this form of the disease have some similarities with mild depressive disorder. The main difference between the forms of the disease is the frequency of their manifestation. A moderate form of depressive syndrome is characterized by a tendency to melancholy, loss of interest in life and a constant feeling of sadness. This condition is accompanied by a rapid decline in self-esteem and the appearance of a feeling of guilt that haunts.

From twenty to twenty-nine points

Such results are clear evidence of the presence of a depressive disorder in the subject, which has a clear severity. According to experts, this condition is a disease of moderate severity, which is characterized as a sharp loss of appetite and rapidly developing apathy. Under the influence of a mental disorder, changes are observed in the emotional perception and physiological state of the patient. All actions performed are carried out on “autopilot”, since the patient loses interest in life. A rather interesting fact is that people in this condition experience a decrease in the synthesis of the happiness hormone.

In such a condition, a person needs immediate psychotherapeutic help. According to experts, lack of attention to this problem, in eighty percent of cases, becomes the cause of a suicide attempt. In addition, in an effort to relieve the blues and sadness, most people begin to use increased quantities of drugs and alcoholic beverages.

The technique was originally developed to provide a quantitative assessment of the intensity of depression

From thirty to sixty-three points

This indicator is a sign that the subject has a severe depressive disorder. Mental disorders are expressed by a depressing state and a feeling of sadness, which force the patient to abandon his usual way of life. Most people suffering from severe depression experience unworthiness and low self-esteem. Major depressive disorder is accompanied by decreased performance, loss of appetite and vital stimuli.

The influence of the disease also affects the emotional sphere, which is expressed in sudden mood swings. Among the somatic symptoms of the disease, sleep problems, disturbances in the immune system and sudden weight loss should be highlighted. A pessimistic view of one's own future can cause hysterical and aggressive behavior. Unreasonable aggression results in physical violence against loved ones and attempts to commit suicide. In order to prevent the development of such a situation, it is necessary to carry out emergency treatment.

Conclusion

You can take a test for depression on many specialized websites or in a psychologist’s office. If signs of the disease are detected, therapy should be started immediately. Otherwise, severe consequences may develop that will affect the state of mind and health.

Depression needs to be stopped in time. To do this, take the test online for free and determine your level of depression.

July 02, 2014

Symptoms of depression
Depression is not just a bad mood. Depression is a serious illness that can and should be treated.

How to distinguish depression from ordinary bad mood? The main symptoms of depression are:

reluctance to move or do anything;
melancholy, despair, causeless anxiety and irritability;
loss of interest in favorite activities, communication and sex life;
feelings of guilt and inferiority;
a gloomy view of the future;
increased attention to one’s health, suspiciousness;
sometimes even thoughts of death and even suicide.

Very often, depression is accompanied by a number of disorders of the autonomic nervous system. A person constantly feels tired, squeezed like a lemon, and cannot concentrate on the tasks at hand. Blood pressure may rise, appetite may increase or, conversely, decrease, and sleep may be disturbed.

If you cannot come to your senses within about two weeks, then you are depressed.

A depressed mental state lowers immunity, so during depression, chronic diseases tend to worsen.

Causes of depression
Until now, experts are not unanimous in their opinion on why a depressive state occurs, what is the cause of depression.

Some experts believe that the main causes of depression are external causes: stress, family and household troubles.

Another part believes that the main reason is a person’s inability to react correctly to a situation, his internal complexes, and inability to adapt.

But most experts believe that the main reasons are stress and prolonged physical and nervous stress.

Prevention of depression
The best prevention of depression is a healthy lifestyle and positive life attitudes.

Firstly, normal sleep. Chronic lack of sleep quietly undermines the nervous system and can cause depression.

Secondly, to avoid depression, you need to learn to relax, rest, and not focus on any one problem, but switch from one problem to another.

Thirdly, as for nutrition, there is no special diet to prevent depression - the main thing is that the diet is balanced and varied.

At the stage of business growth, an entrepreneur may become depressed and his activities may lead the organization to a crisis:

Take a depression test
Forewarned is forearmed. To find out if you are prone to depression, take this test.

INSTRUCTIONS: Remember your feelings of the last month. If you agree with the statement, then select "Yes", otherwise select "No".

Depression can occur for a variety of reasons. This could be the loss of loved ones or other tragic events. Symptoms of depression can also occur due to chemical imbalances in the human body. Every person should know how to deal with depression, for what reasons it occurs, how to independently fight depressive conditions, what needs to be done after getting out of depression, etc.

Research by the World Health Organization shows that by 2020, the most common disease on planet Earth will be a disease called depression. Already today, experts have calculated that there are only 3% of people left on our planet who are not susceptible to such a harmful condition as depression. The remaining 97% of the population are former, current or future victims of depression.

Symptoms and main signs of depression

Psychologists and psychiatrists have long classified depression as a negative and painful condition that, even with the desire, a person cannot cope with on his own.

The main symptom of depression is a depressed state of mind that lasts from several days to several weeks. In many cases, this condition (if left untreated) gets significantly worse over time. Among the main signs of depression is anxiety. A person who has been depressed may experience incomprehensible and causeless anxiety or a feeling of severe despondency. Many people experience so-called situational depression, which occurs as a result of negative and even tragic life events in a person’s life. Sometimes such a strong negative emotion cannot be associated with any event that recently occurred in the patient’s life. Signs of depression may occur, for example, in a person who lost his job the day before. Problems more often arise as a result of long-term, protracted and uncontrolled depressive states. In addition, you should also think about treating a depressive state when it interferes with fully performing your daily functions and engaging in work activities.
Signs of depression also include problems concentrating. A person suffering from depression focuses only on his own experiences, but solving work problems becomes an impossible task for him. Due to the fact that it is impossible to focus on work-related tasks, a person constantly experiences problems with decision-making. If one of the symptoms of depression is a high level of anxiety, then the patient often overreacts emotionally to the most ordinary things.
Anxiety disorders often also accompany the course of depressive conditions. They typically have trouble sleeping at night and symptoms such as moodiness and high levels of irritability throughout the day. Although if we consider this problem purely from a medical point of view, there is no clear and scientifically based evidence that one disorder gives rise to another. But there is a lot of evidence that, for example, people who currently suffer from depression with anxiety symptoms have previously experienced anxiety disorders.
It should be noted that symptoms of depression can be not only psychological (mental), but also physical. For example, depression is often accompanied by high blood pressure or hypertension. In such depressed states, a person loses interest in food, appetite decreases and sudden and large weight losses occur. Patients suffering from depressive and nervous disorders may generally lose interest in life, ceasing to take care of their own appearance. Friends, family and loved ones who detect such symptoms in a person should immediately seek help from a medical facility.

Major depressive states and what is known about them

Major depression is one of the most dangerous conditions for a person. It is divided into three main types. People suffering from bipolar disorder often experience periods of deep depression.

For many people, depression is nothing more than a seasonal disorder. Those suffering from it begin to experience severe negative states at certain times of the year (only in winter, only in spring or only in autumn).

It is very rare, but a psychotic type of depression still occurs. This is one of the most severe forms, when a person constantly experiences hallucinations and loses touch with reality. However, it should be noted that the symptoms of major depression should not be confused with a common depressive state (for example, seasonal autumn depression). If such a negative state has really gone deep, then the patient often experiences uncontrollable bouts of crying, extreme fatigue, sudden weight loss or, conversely, a strong increase in weight. People suffering from depression may also experience attacks of chronic pain. Most of the day in such a patient is spent sleeping. The presence of deep depression will also be indicated by regularly occurring thoughts of suicide.

Symptoms of major depression only get worse if left untreated. And because of this, ordinary depression develops into a nervous or mental disorder. This stage will be indicated by the patient's long and deep sleep, sometimes lasting up to several days. A person loses interest in performing everyday activities, he ceases to be interested in family, close people and friends, and signs of paranoia often appear. In addition, the patient suffers from uncontrollable and sudden outbursts of aggression, he may experience severe hallucinations and hear voices in his head.

Experts advise a person who has been suffering from deep depression for a long time to see their doctor or psychologist. The doctor will be able not only to work on eliminating the symptoms of depression, but also to help his patient identify the factors that cause such a negative state. Psychological consultations with people suffering from depression can be carried out individually or in the format of group psychological sessions.

Testing to determine the presence of depressive conditions

You can determine whether you are really depressed yourself by using a special test to determine whether you are depressed. The fact is that the presence of individual symptoms may not mean that a person has become depressed. However, if the answers to more than half of the questions in the test proposed below are positive, then this will still indicate that the individual is susceptible to a depressive state.

So, we invite readers to answer the following questions to determine the presence of depression:

Do you find it difficult to fall asleep at night?
Do you often feel tired or emotionally exhausted?
Do you often have nightmares in your sleep?
Has your weight changed significantly over the past six months, up or down, but you are not following any diet?
Have you ever had a situation in your family where your close relatives (parents, sisters or brothers) were diagnosed with a mental disorder?
Has your sex drive decreased recently?
Are your daily stress levels moderate to high?
Does it happen that as the cold season approaches (autumn or winter), your mood changes for the worse?
Do you experience auditory or visual hallucinations?
Do you often feel like your life has no meaning?
Do you often try to hide your own experiences from your family and loved ones?

This is just one of many examples of tests to determine depression. Similar or other options can be found on the Internet. And if you want to assess your own emotional state in more detail, use professional psychological tests offered by specialized medical publications.

Treatment of depression

Treatment of depressive conditions is best, of course, carried out under the supervision of specialist doctors. A doctor prescribes a certain course of treatment for a patient suffering from depression, but the person must understand that even he cannot give an instant result. It is likely that you will have to try several types of antidepressants to find a drug that is truly effective for an individual’s body. All medications will have to be taken not just for one day, but for several weeks or months (depending on the complexity of the condition), before the benefits and first results from their use are visible.

The main thing that is required from the patient is patience. He must trust his own doctor, and at the entire stage of treatment tell him in detail everything that is happening to him. Only if absolute trust is established between the doctor and the depressed patient will the doctor be able to select the best result of treatment procedures against depression.

Depressive conditions in people are often treated with special medications called antidepressants. They not only alleviate the symptoms of depressive conditions, but also significantly increase morale. Only a qualified doctor can choose a good antidepressant that would have the minimum number of side effects on the human body, but at the same time be as effective as possible.

How antidepressants work

Before we consider the principle of action of antidepressants on the body of a person suffering from depression, we will tell you a little about what provokes the occurrence of such a negative state. Experts link depression to three chemicals called neurotransmitters. Serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine help transmit electrical signals between brain cells. After many studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that there is a relationship between depressive symptoms and an imbalance of these chemical components in the brain.

Drugs called antidepressants increase the availability of neurotransmitters while changing the sensitivity of the receptors that sense those same neurotransmitters.
There are other ways to treat depression, such as psychotherapy. Its main task is to develop an effective strategy that would help a person effectively counteract a negative and difficult emotional state. This strategy will help kill two birds with one stone, namely, increase the effectiveness of drug treatment for depression and cope with stressful situations that happen to a person every day. Psychotherapy in its modern interpretation is represented by various types (group, individual, family). Only a doctor can tell which of these varieties to choose, taking into account all the individual characteristics of the body and circumstances.
Electroconvulsive therapy is used to treat particularly severe cases of depression. In medical circles it is also known as electroshock therapy. Before this procedure, the patient is given anesthesia, and then the doctor applies a short electrical discharge to the human brain, passing it inside through the scalp. The result of this effect is convulsion. Electroconvulsive therapy is a very effective method of treating severe depression, when the state of the body becomes so negative that it no longer responds to other forms of therapeutic intervention. Doctors also carry out electroshock therapy in cases where the patient poses a serious threat to people around them and the entire society as a whole, and doctors do not have time to wait for the medications to take effect.
Another way to combat depression belongs to the category of relatively new ones. Many medical institutes approved its use only in 2008, calling the method transcranial magnetic stimulation. It is intended for effective treatment of those people who are no longer helped by any antidepressant. This method of brain stimulation is used more often to treat various types of deep depression that demonstrate resistance to drug therapeutic procedures.

Features of independent struggle with depression

You can fight depression on your own if it is still in its infancy, and there is still a long way to go before it reaches its deepest stage. Of course, in order to successfully cope with such a negative state, a person will need to make some changes to his usual lifestyle, change some of his foundations and habits.

Self-resistance to a depressive state involves a complete rejection of harmful foods and a transition to a healthy diet. And the first thing you should exclude from your diet is refined sugar. The fact is that depression is very closely related to a decrease in the hormone serotonin in the brain, and the entry of sugar into the body causes a short-term surge of this hormone. This explains the insatiable craving for sweets in many people experiencing depression. However, it is worth understanding that the increase in serotonin levels will only be short-lived, and after that the condition will worsen again. You cannot cope with depression with the help of sweets!
When a depressed state occurs, you should immediately reconsider your diet. It should contain only balanced food, the right products. It is very important that such a diet contains a sufficient amount of vitamins. Remember that if your diet is varied and correct, then your body will feel good, which will eliminate the likelihood of depression.
Fighting depression on your own also involves regular sports and physical exercise. It is sport that helps increase the level of adrenaline in the body, which significantly improves your mood for several hours in advance. In general, regular exercise becomes not only an effective remedy against existing depression, but also a preventive measure against it.

What to do after depression

Have you managed to overcome depression? Well, this is a very good result on the road to recovery, but it remains at risk without taking certain preventive measures subsequently. It is very important not only to drive away depression, but also to maintain a stable emotional state at the same level, so as not to become despondent again.

To save your body from returning to depression, you should give yourself as much sunlight as possible. Take daily walks, which are sure to improve your mood. Even a short stay outdoors under the sun's rays will help quickly drive away the blues and bad mood.
After treating depression, you should also take care of getting enough sleep. If you sleep little, the functioning of your body will invariably be impaired, which will lead to irritability and then depression. Normal sleep time is considered to be 7-9 hours during the day. With this number of hours, your emotional background will remain at the same level. If you feel tired, then, regardless of the time of day, lie down and rest a little.
Another important criterion for maintaining the body in good shape after getting out of depression is the correct organization of your own time. It’s better, of course, to make a list of your goals for the near future, writing it down on paper. Psychologists advise starting life planning with short-term and easy goals, which will not be difficult to achieve for a person weakened by recent depression. An excellent option would be to use a reward system after each achievement.

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