Depression means more than simply being sad. Sadness is a common human emotional response to events and thoughts. Perhaps the best identifier of sadness is that it has a basis or reason behind it.
Depression as a mental health disorder doesn’t need a reason. While, like sadness, it can rob you of the joy in life, depression tends to cause sadness rather than the reverse. It can be a complex problem to treat.
As an anxiety and depression specialist, Nizar A. Tejani, MD, can tell you that the effects of depression are often unpredictable and not always limited to your emotional state. Further clouding the condition is that symptoms may be shared with other illnesses.
Loss of appetite and disinterest in social activity can be signs of depression. Still, it’s unlikely that you’ll be diagnosed with depression because of the presence of those two symptoms alone.
There’s a process that you’ll go through with Dr. Tejani before he formulates a definitive diagnosis of depression. Let’s take a look at how such a diagnosis is built.
As we’ve already seen, there’s a connection between depression and sadness, though it’s not exclusive. There is a wide range of signs and symptoms connected with depression, and every patient could have their own unique combination. Common depression symptoms include:
Though depression isn’t fully understood, stress in your life, genetics, medical conditions, medication side effects, and imbalances in brain chemistry can all contribute.
When you visit Dr. Tejani to investigate your feelings of depression, we’ll first review your medical history and current symptoms in depth. This is followed by a physical exam that can provide clues about your symptoms originating from an illness or other condition.
We may use a questionnaire to match your feelings with typical depression conditions, including a quick ranking of the potential severity of your case. We compare our findings with standard medical references that classify and organize mental health disorders for comparison.
So, recognizing a lack of desire to eat and an aversion to socializing are certainly valid symptoms for a medical health assessment. Still, they aren’t enough on their own to result in a depression diagnosis, even when they later prove to be valid observations.
Contact us at Dr. Tejani’s Stockbridge, Georgia, office when you suspect you may be experiencing depression. Call or click to book your appointment today.
