When we are told that someone is depressed , we imagine a person with a bad mood, who sees the world around him in black colors. Indeed, with depression, a person loses interest in life and work. He feels that longing and sadness are squeezing his chest and he constantly wants to cry. Today, depression is one of the most common female diseases.
Unfortunately, people with depression are not always treated with understanding. Often they accept this disease as a manifestation of laziness, selfishness, improper upbringing and natural pessimism. Meanwhile, depression is a disease that requires the intervention of psychotherapists and is well treatable. The sooner you begin treatment for depression, the greater the chance that the disease will not take severe forms, accompanied by abuse of alcohol, drugs and even the desire to commit suicide.
Remember, depression is a serious illness, not just a bad mood. If depression is not recognized in time and braking is not possible, then it can develop and bring suffering not only to the patient himself, but also to his relatives. To distinguish depression from a bad mood, answer questions from a test by American psychotherapist Williams Zang.
1. How often do you feel like crying?
a) without serious reason, I never pay – 1 point; b) I pay only after quarrels – 2 points; c) I pay every time I feel sorry for myself or someone – 3 points; d) I cry constantly, I have tears very close – 4 points.
2. How do you sleep at night?
a) never waking up – 1 point; b) if I’m very upset, I can’t fall asleep – 2 points;
c) fall asleep and sleep poorly – 3 points; d) I am constantly suffering from insomnia – 4 points.
3. What is your mood in the morning?
a) I always wake up with a great mood – 1 point; b) bad, only if there are problems – 2 points; c) in the morning I am rarely kind and cheerful – 3 points; d) I can’t even imagine what you can enjoy in the mornings – 4 points.
4. Do you feel tired?
a) no, I even feel cheerful after work – 1 point; b) I get tired only after work – 2 points; c) I often feel tired even in the afternoon – 3 points; d) I have no strength in the morning – 4 points.
5. Do you like to do household chores?
a) they give me joy – 1 point; b) I love only cooking, and washing and cleaning annoy me – 2 points; c) I cook and clean only by mood – 3 points; c) all household chores annoy me – 4 points.
6. How easy are you to make decisions?
a) I almost always make decisions – 1 point; b) sometimes I need someone’s advice – 2 points; c) I rarely have to make a decision – 3 points; d) why should I make decisions and take responsibility – 4 points.
7. How often do you feel sad and depressed?
a) occasionally – 1 point; b) only when I am left alone (one) – 2 points; c) often – 3 points; d) almost always – 4 points.
8. Do you consider yourself a happy person?
a) yes – 1 point; b) sometimes I am unhappy – 2 points; c) I often feel unhappy (unhappy) – 3 points; d) I do not know what happiness is – 4 points.
9. Do you like to communicate with loved ones, as before?
a) for me there is no better pleasure than communication with relatives – 1 point; b) only when I have a mood – 2 points; c) often I do not want to hear anyone – 3 points; d) they all annoy me – 4 points.
10. What is your appetite ? a) excellent – 1 point; b) sometimes I do not want to eat anything – 2 points; c) often forget that you need to eat – 3 points; d) always eat without pleasure – 4 points.
11. Do you consider yourself useless?
a) never – 1 point; b) only after quarrels – 2 points; c) always when I’m lonely – 3 points;
d) I am completely sure (a) of this – 4 points.
12. Do you make future plans?
a) there are so many plans for the future that I am afraid not to have time to put them into practice – 1 point; b) only if I have a lot of money – 2 points; c) I live only in the present – 3 points; d) I do not even want to think about what awaits me in the future – 4 points.
13. How often do you get annoyed over trifles?
a) I do not attach importance to the little things in life – 1 point; b) I get annoyed more often than before – 2 points; c) quite often I get relatives close to nothing – 3 points; d) I’m constantly nervous because no one understands me – 4 points.
14. How do you behave if you have trouble at work or at home?
a) calm, looking for ways to solve the problem – 1 point; b) sometimes break off on others – 2 points; c) I can’t even think of anything at this time – 3 points; d) my life turns into a real nightmare – 4 points.
15. Do you think that everyone will be happy with your death?
a) no, everyone needs me – 1 point; b) only enemies – 2 points; c) sometimes I think so – 3 points;
d) yes, nobody needs me – 4 points.
16. How does your heart beat?
a) as before – 1 point; b) occasionally I feel a heartbeat – 2 points; c) the heart beats more often than usual – 3 points; d) I constantly take pills for arrhythmias – 4 points.
17. How often do constipations bother you?
a) I have no difficulty with defecation – 1 point; b) only in winter – 2 points; c) often – 3 points; d) constantly – 4 points.
18. Do you lose weight?
a) I lose weight only during the diet – 1 point; b) for no reason only in spring and winter – 2 points; c) I often lose weight without any diets – 3 points; d) suffer from a lack of weight – 4 points.
19. How do you feel about sex?
a) love – 1 point; b) I want in the mood – 2 points; c) I agree so as not to offend the partner – 3 points; d) scornfully – 4 points.
20. How often do you forget?
a) never – 1 point; b) only when I am enthusiastically engaged in something – 2 points; c) yes, I often forget what is not important for me – 3 points; d) I forget everything that I do not record – 4 points.
If you have :
up to 50 points – you have no depression.
from 51 to 60 points – in unpleasant situations, depression is possible. You need a consultation with a psychotherapist.
from 61 to 70 points – you have a masked depression, you need to seek help from a psychiatrist.
71 or more points – you have a real depression that needs to be treated urgently.