If you are having several of the symptoms mentioned above and they last for longer than a week or two, you may be depressed. See your doctor to be evaluated so you can begin treatment.

Diagnosing depression often begins with a screening questionnaire that asks questions about your outlook, mood, and attitude in the recent past. Examples of these types of questions include:

• Do you feel sad, blue, unhappy or “down in the dumps”?
• Do you feel tired, having little energy, unable to concentrate?
• Do you feel inadequate, like a failure or that nobody likes you anymore?
• Do you feel guilty without a rational reason, or put yourself down?
• Do you feel that things always go or will go wrong no matter how hard you try?

The doctor will also do a physical examination and ask about your personal and family medical history. He or she may also do blood tests to rule out other disorders such as thyroid problems, diabetes, or viral infections. There is no concrete test for depression and so its diagnosis depends on how well your symptoms conform to the guidelines laid out in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The diagnostic criteria for depression include the presence of the majority of the following symptoms lasting nearly all day on most days for two or more weeks:

• A depressed mood, as indicated either by subjective report or observation made by others.
• Loss of interest or pleasure in most activities.
• Significant unintentional weight loss or weight gain.
• Sleeping difficulties, either sleeping too much or too little.
• Feelings of restlessness and agitation.
• Feelings of sluggishness.
• Fatigue or lack of energy.
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt.
• Problems thinking, concentrating, or making decisions.
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
• Symptoms that cause distress or impair your ability to function in your daily life.