Diagnostic
If youβve been feeling down for a while and itβs starting to affect your daily life β like your schoolwork, hanging out with friends, or just getting through the day β itβs important to talk to someone who can help, like a physician or (school) psychologist.
Importance Talking to Someone – Seeking Help
When you talk to health physician or school psychologist, theyβll probably ask you a lot of questions (called structured clinical interview). They will ask how youβve been feeling lately and what your symptoms look like in more detail. Donβt worry, itβs all part of figuring out whatβs going on. Depending on what you tell them, they might want to run some additional tests. This is to make sure there arenβt underlying medical causes/reasons for your symptoms and feelings.
Theyβll also want to check if there are any other things going on, like anxiety or substance use. And they want to check if there is any chance you might be feeling really down or thinking about hurting yourself. All of this is needed to make sure they understand what exactly is happening. Once they know, they can provide you with the best help.
You will probably also have to fill out a psychological questionnaire. This is a questionnaire specifically designed to assess if you are experiencing depression but also how severe your depression is. They might use a questionnaire called PHQ9 if you are 12 or older. If you are between 7 and 17 they might also use the Childrenβs Depression Inventory (CDI).
After a detailed visit and additional testing like described above, where you talk about your symptoms, how many you have, what kind they are, and how much they are interfering with your life, your healthcare provider can figure out how serious your depression is. It could be anything from experiencing dysthymia, to mild, moderate, or severe depression. Knowing how severe it is helps plan out the best way to help you feel better.