09-01-2017, 10:22 AM
(08-31-2017, 11:35 PM)BlackSocks Wrote: Yellow dog you're figuring out what's going on with you that's causing this struggle and feelings of distress. The doctor said he didn't think you're depressed (but advised you to try Antidepressants)
My guess is the doctor was proposing using antidepressants diagnostically - i.e. if there is improvement after two months of citalopram (or whatever SSRI), then it probably is/was depression.
The problem is that depression gets treated in rather binary terms. Perhaps it is more useful to think of depression as existing on a spectrum, rather than something you either do or don't have. Perhaps you are low level depressed? To be clear, this is NOT a diagnosis (I'm not allowed, and I haven't met you)!
I'd guess your doctor asked you a few questions that focused on intention to harm, maybe diet, alcohol, etc. If you don't score above the magic threshold then you technically aren't depressed. But those measures are very blunt instruments. You get people who fall into what is termed "sub-clinical" depression i.e. have some of the markers for depression, but don't quite hit the threshold for it to be considered clinically significant. So maybe you sit there (again, not a diagnosis, just an example).
You could self-administer the HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). It is one side of paper, 14 questions, and it might give you a sense of where you sit. If none of the issues seem applicable then you almost certainly aren't depressed, but if you get the "oh, yes, that's me" feeling about some of them then it might give you something more specific to discuss with your doctor when you next see them. Don't fixate on the score it produces, think about whether the topics resonate with you.
Good luck