Asking about assessments
Is there any way to know if I'm depressed without getting an actual assessment? I'm unable to at the moment (working on it), but I have those episodes once a month or two months when I feel totally hopeless, sad, tired, I overeat or undereat, I oversleep or undersleep. My behavioral changes get to the point where my mom asks me if I'm on drugs even though I don't take and have never taken anything. How likely is it that it's depression and how do I deal with it before I get an actual psychologist?
@azureWalker7470 Hey 💙 I'm sorry you're feeling like this
Whether it's depression or something else, the way you feel deserves attention 💙 but sometimes it helps to look at how long something like this has been going on, and how frequently it interferes with your life. High interference, long time = worth checking out 💙
If you ever want to talk about it, feel free to reach out to me or any other listener 💙 I hope things get a little easier from here on out
@azureWalkrr7470 You could try some free online test. However, having the result would likely not help on its own and could be inaccurate. If you are worried, then as you wait for assessment you could exercise more (maybe 1h a week of good cardio). Exercising can have significant good impact on mental state.
I've had (and I have) depression too, from my not so great experience I can say that yes, you have depression. Don't take it badly, it's not cancer, in my view it is just a thing that goes and comes but not a disease you can cure with a pill. Everyone has a different body and a different mind, everyone lives it differently, I think you have to find your way. In my case I've found that reading, playing videogames, watching films or in general escape reality for a bit can help, but I don't recommend it: there can be negative effects of this method. Generally you have to find something that makes you feel alive, a sport, an hobby, a special person... You'll feel it when you get it. This is my view and my experience, I'm not an expert, I'm not a psychologist, before doing something that can hurt you, I recommend consulting someone wiser. I wish you the best
A bit late...LLMs are your friend :) I asked Claude from Anthropic if it could do a casual test for depression and it actually built a screening test. Not saying it's any good - but it's an option. Probably OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini could do the same thing...you could try them all to see if they differ (they very well might).
Claude:
"The interactive screening tool I built is available to anyone using Claude — including the free tier at claude.ai. Just have them start a conversation and ask Claude to give them a depression screening or mood check-in questionnaire, and it'll walk them through it."