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Every day someone or the other falls prey to depression. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 10% of the population suffers from depression. That is when the person remains sad, miserable, and bereft of self-assurance for long periods of time. A normal person too may feel down and out quite often, but the feeling of sadness is short-lived as the person moves on to other thoughts and actions planned for the day.
On the contrary, a person who is depressed experiences continuing feelings of misery and pessimism. Depression is a disturbing mental illness that causes a lot of worries and leads to psychosomatic disorders. However, the good news is that the problem has a good cure rate.
The most significant step you can take to prevent or treat depression is to be aware of the signs of the impending disorder, its nature, and the extent. That is why it becomes important to take depression tests. There are several websites that help you take online tests for depression. You can also opt for tests available at health centers. You should remember that only a professional caregiver can diagnose the disorder precisely.
There are Differing kinds of Depression Some of Them are
1. Cyclothymia (a less severe version of bipolar disorder)
2. Bipolar disorder
3. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
4. Dysthymia (a condition of depression that is chronic)
5. Postpartum depression (depression that sometimes occurs after the birth of a child)
Online depression tests are a quick and simple way to get an indication of whether you may be experiencing symptoms of depression. The tests are not very long, usually in the form of quizzes or questionnaires, and will help you decide on what to do next. If the tests meet the “Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing”, the results can be considered pretty accurate.
Some well-known depression self-tests are the Discovery Health Abridged Depression Test, the Anxiety and Depression Screening Test, Zung Depression Scale, Dr. Ivan K Goldberg’s Depression Test, the Geriatric Depression Scale, Wakefield Depression Test, NYU Medical Center Depression Test, the 101 Questions Wide Depression Test and so on.
The Need for Depression Tests
The tests can help you gauge the intensity of the problem and decide whether professional counseling should be sought promptly. The tests in no way can substitute a visit to the professional, but they can surely help you decide the next course of action, as regards the extent of the depression. Some people are also known to seek positive reinforcement, as soon as they find out that they may be suffering from depression, and thus begin to help themselves right away.
Testing a person for depression is the first step to cure him. The US administration conducts population-level screening programs in order to bring about a holistic improvement in the mental health profile of the nation.
It is important that the depression tests should be
1. Acceptable to the people who are being tested
2. Simple and comprehensive
3. Adhering to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
Depression tests help a person identify whether he is suffering from the disorder; provided the test adhered to national standards of testing. Though nothing compares to visiting a professional health caregiver, the tests can give you a pretty good idea about the extent of the problem.
