If you have depression, or at least think you do, you need to remember that you shouldn't self-diagnose. You must have a medical practitioner who is qualified to provide you with a proper assessment and professional diagnosis of your condition.
There is absolutely no reason to feel ashamed or embarrassed about talking to a healthcare provider about any symptoms of your condition. There are many health professionals who are very understanding of your problem. After all, they were trained to study and treat depression.
If you have similar symptoms, do not hesitate to consult a doctor. Before you can get any real help or treatment for depression, you must first have a proper diagnosis.
You see, these symptoms are also a symptom of other problems. For example, weight loss, fatigue and sleep may not be caused by depression, but by some health problem. Other symptoms, such as a loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy, or problems with attention or memory may not be related to depression at all, but may indicate an undiagnosed medical condition.
You need to consult a doctor so that you can make sure that the symptoms you are experiencing are truly a result of your depression, and from there you can begin the treatment that is best for you. Your doctor may ask you to answer questions in order to fully assess and help determine whether you are truly depressed, and possibly perform tests to determine if your symptoms are the result of another medical problem.
Depression is a medical condition that is real. Remember that having depression is not something you want to have. You probably wouldn't think less of someone with the flu or a heart condition. Likewise, you mustn't feel ashamed or guilty about being depressed.
Depression will not go away by "working it out" or "being strong". Being weak in your will doesn't immediately make you depressed. Most cases of depression cannot simply go away just by trying to cheer up. You can't simply eliminate it by exercising, taking vitamins, or going on vacation. Treating depression requires professional help—you can't do it alone. Like any other serious illness, depression requires professional treatment from a general practitioner. When you suffer from depression, you need to ask for help to make the problem go away.
Your feelings may change when treatment comes. You should be pleased to know that depression has proven to be one of the most treatable conditions.
When seeking treatment for depression, what type of health care provider should you see?
Although there is some question as to what treatment is best for depression problems (whether it be medication, therapy, or a combination of both), there is actually a type of health professional who is highly qualified to help you recover from depression and various mood disorders that use medication or drugs: a psychiatrist.
Frankly, psychologists are also highly qualified to treat depression problems, but they are not doctors and as such cannot prescribe medication. You should be aware that psychologists specialize in therapy, especially talk therapy. If you don't know if you need medication or medication, it may be best to start depression treatment under the care of a psychiatrist.
If you think you might also have a good chance of overcoming your depression with talk therapy, many psychiatrists can be good at this too, although there are some who can refer you to more experienced therapists. More about this in the forthcoming article.
You must be logged in to post a comment.