How many of you have experienced depression in your life?

[Kfamr]

I still got a very high number, but it was a couple less than before.

[slick]

I scored 20, alot higher than expected.

[Prairie Purrs]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I think really, it's all on you. You know whether or not you're depressed, you know what goes on in your mind and your life.
No stranger could say "Yeah, ok, i've talked to you for a half hour, you're not depressed" or "You're depressed."

It's only been a half hour, and for you it's been years (however old you are) -- YOU know what goes on in your mind, and you've seen what goes on through your eyes.

Take it from someone who's got 40-some years of experience with depression--this is not something you can figure out on your own.

Until I was in my mid-20s, I thought I was just a bad, lazy person. I believed that the reason I often thought about killing myself was that I didn't deserve to live. It seemed perfectly reasonable and logical to comtemplate suicide. That's the nasty thing about depression--it warps your thought processes so that you can't think clearly. It's not at all uncommon for people who are severely, clinically depressed to deny that they suffer from depression.

A qualified psychologist or psychiatrist isn't just some stranger. He or she has seen many people with depression and knows the symptoms.

The bottom line for anyone who thinks he or she might be suffering from depression is to SEEK HELP!! Don't bottle it up inside or it'll explode someday.

[micki76]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I'm going to take the test again.
Last time I got something around a 50 ( If I remember correctly )
and I was fine that day. I feel fine right now, so lets see.

Are you my kid or something? This has been happeneing too much for my happiness lately. I got a 48 the first time and a 46 the second.

[Kfamr]

Originally posted by micki76
Are you my kid or something? This has been happeneing too much for my happiness lately. I got a 48 the first time and a 46 the second.

If Chester, Millie, & Aneko can be my siblings.... Why yes, i'm your kid!

[Twisterdog]

I got a seven on the quiz.

I'm a pretty happy person.


However, if I would have taken that quiz as a teenager, I'm positive my results would have been sky-high some days. The teen years are SO HARD, even for the most well-adjusted kid. I am a bit concerned that all the teens on here are taking this quiz, thinking, "Oh, man. I'm depressed. There's something seriously wrong with me!" when maybe it's just normal teenage/hormonal roller-coaster stuff.

And, another thing I'd like to add (and I hope it doesn't offend anyone!!!) .... when I was a teenager, no one would have even dreamed of saying they were "depressed". It just never occurred to us. It wasn't a popular, accepted thing ... the subject of talk-shows and magazine articles. "Depressed" might be what your old auntie was, but you didn't talk about it. The climate was not such in this country that it was acceptable and/or trendy to have an ailment like depression. Which was bad, if you were truly, clinically depressed - you probably didn't know it, didn't know how to get help, and were ashamed of it. However, I have to agree with others that said, the percentages on this poll seem a little "off". I honestly don't believe that less than 20% percent of the population has not been depressed! I think "depression" is becoming a catch-all, casual, Jenny Jones-ish phrase, which belittles the truly, clinically depressed. Kind of a sad statement on the climate of our world today.

[IttyBittyKitty]

I think that it is fair to say that the world as it is today is contributing to a general malaise that is affecting everyone to a greater or lesser extent. It is becoming harder to simply stay afloat, to feed your children and keep a dry roof over your head. We are told that we are not making enough money, but we are spending more and more of it as each year passes. Our negative self-image is constantly re-inforced by the perfection we see in the media and perceive in others.

Trauma can induce chemical depression and it is getting to the point where simply living can be a traumatic experience for many. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that so many individuals identify with feelings of depression and helplessness.

So what if depression is brought on by a partner leaving you or general teen troubles? Serious, clinical depression can be induced by seemingly benign events even in indviduals not predisposed to such conditions. Why? Well, the human psyche and brain are very complex and volatile entities.

Having myself experienced both "chemical" and experientially-based depression I can easily say that depression is depression is depression and it sucks no matter which way you cut it.

We need to provide love and support for everyone who needs it.

[2kitties]

Folks, please stop taking this rediculous quiz. It's an internet quiz. Not too much different than the ones that tell you which Friends Character you're most like, or what kind of dog you most resemble, etc. It can't accuratly tell you if you are depressed or not.

[Prairie Purrs]

Originally posted by 2kitties
Folks, please stop taking this rediculous quiz. It's an internet quiz. Not too much different than the ones that tell you which Friends Character you're most like, or what kind of dog you most resemble, etc. It can't accuratly tell you if you are depressed or not.

The Beck depression inventory is not an Internet quiz. It is a widely used screening tool for clinical depression.

It cannot be used to self-diagnose depression, but it can help indicate whether someone should seek professional assistance.

[2kitties]

CatsinDenver,
I absolutely, 100%, agree with you that someone who thinks they may be depressed should seek help from a professional. My point is that this quiz should be administered by a professional or taken in a situation other than what this thread has become. In this thread, for instance, it has become inflammatory. It is now a quiz that people are taking over and over again to see if they can make their scores change.
If you think you have a problem, see a counselor, or a parent, or someone.

[Prairie Purrs]

The Beck depression inventory is a weekly test (it asks you to evaluate your mood over the past week), so although taking it every five minutes won't tell you much, it is intended to be taken more than once.

If you get a high score, see a doctor. I know how hard it is to tell your parents that you want to get help--boy oh boy, have I been there. But the sooner you get some help and learn how to manage depression, the better off you'll be. And if the doctor determines that you aren't depressed, well, that can only be a good thing.

[bluekat]

However, if I would have taken that quiz as a teenager, I'm positive my results would have been sky-high some days. The teen years are SO HARD, even for the most well-adjusted kid. I am a bit concerned that all the teens on here are taking this quiz, thinking, "Oh, man. I'm depressed. There's something seriously wrong with me!" when maybe it's just normal teenage/hormonal roller-coaster stuff.

I agree, I'm going into my teen years now (well, I have been a teen for a while already ) and I'm so afraid of high school. It'll probably be the WORST years of my life I know its going to be very very hard. I hate being a teen. Well, sometimes lol

I feel really weird posting on this topic, because not even my closests friends know how I really feel.

I never tell my friends any of my problems. You guys probably know more about me than anyone else. and that's good

[cubby31682]

I'm another one that doesn't talk to my friends about my depression. For that matter I don't talk to anyone. Hubby kinda knows when I get depressed, but he leaves me alone knowing that that is what I want to be left alone.

I have been depressed since I was 14, I was put on paxil (in my mind, that is the best pill for me, even though I haven't tried any others.) As soon as my depression slowly started to get better and better, my father passed away, I was once again put on paxil (by the doctor who killed my dad) My mother begged me not to get out of control when I had to talk to that doctor. She knew my attitude, she knew I would have said something or to him that shouldn't be said. What was going though my mind then was you took my dad from me, now it's my turn to take something from you. We did take him to court, to take his license but we never got his license. To this day I still hate that man.

Hmmm, I really got off topic this time. As far as my depression now goes. It has gotten better, I still get very depressed. I am not curently on any medications for it. I have thought about being put back on some. Over the last 5 years it has been a very hard battle over and over again. I still have days that I just do nothing but think about my dad and I will cry all day.

Ok I think I have shared enough for one day.

Katie

[G.P.girl]

i'm depressed now.....nobody's home...i'm not even sure why i'm depressed...maybe i'll take that test agian....i'm on a starvation diet now, and i'm hungry...maybe i'll call my uncle....oh well, sorry to bother you guys....

[mahayana]

I'm sorry I didn't write something to you when I saw your last post, GP.

Afraid I'd say something wrong, make it worse.

I have a ton of guilt inside for not being better at helping people I care about with their serious problems.

Hope you are doing better now.