AM I REALLY DEPRESSED? IS MY CHILD? . . . IS MY HUSBAND?

Sometimes the family can help identify a depressed person while that person is busy fooling the doctor with her mask of normality.

1. Depression is a specific diagnosis and the key rule is that the person is experiencing dysphoria (the opposite of euophoria) - most depressed people say they are sad, but some also say that they're irritable, tense, or upset.

1. You or your loved one is certainly depressed if four of the following eight symptoms have hung around for at least two weeks:

change in appetite or significant (5% or more) weight gain or loss; sleeping too much or too little; agitated or lethargic; loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities; decrease in sexual drive (or loss of interest in being around people, especially members of the opposite gender); loss of energy and easily fatigued; feelings of worthlessness or guilt; impaired thinking or concentration; indecisiveness; suicidal thoughts or attempts.

3. If you have had two of these symptoms at a moderate or even a mild level for as long as two years, then the official diagnosis is dysthymia, which is just as real as depression -- you should see a professional or at the very least you should make a determined effort to increase the number of people with whom you have intimate conversations. R.M.Dawes in House Of Cards says that talking to a friend or informal counselor is as useful as seeing a psychotherapist, and, indeed if you have a long relationship an untrained lay counselor is better for you than a professional - Dawes says there are more than 1000 studies all of which, without a single exception, support this finding. So talk to someone!

3. If a loved one or someone in your family has died, grief is not depression unless it goes on for an unreasonable amount of time. In the same way, a sense of guilt over something you've done is a reasonable bad feeling to have. You should be talking to your family and friends more.

3. If you or a loved one are sad, morose, and down, you do have to consider if there is a problem of psychosis, organic brain syndrome, toxic brain syndrome, and other medical conditions. You also need to consider that many prescription medicines, especially reserpine, methyldopa, oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, and steroids may cause sadness. Check your medicines, read the PDR regarding the drug, ask your druggist for the package insert. If you are a woman consider PMS. If you are man, older than 50, maybe you need to talk to your physician about YOUR change of life.

3. The AMA states that 60% of office visits have no physical findings. In other words the AMA thinks that 60 of 100 office visits are for emotional reasons. The AMA also concludes that depression causes more severe loss of the capacity for work and enjoyment of life than does heart disease. Don't let depression ruin your life. You may want to check yourself against a standard list of symptoms. CLICK HERE FOR A DEPRESSION CHECKLIST .

Many people who also have physical findings will benefit from attention to their depression. Remember all research shows that you reduce the effect of any disease, and you live longer if you have a wide social group and many friendly conversations and visits with friends and relatives.