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Depression Self-Assessment

By Zinn Jeremiah

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Published: 27Oct2007
Word count: 457
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Depression is the most commonly occurring psychological problem in the United States, with several estimates putting the number of depressed people at roughly twenty percent of the US population. While this percentage may not seem extraordinarily large on its face, as a number it may add up to sixty million people, or one in every five US citizens. Common though it may be, depression often goes undiagnosed and many depressed people may not actually be aware of their condition, while other people may suspect that they’re depressed but may not be entirely certain.

Though it’s sensible to seek a professional diagnosis if depression is suspected, there are methods for getting an indication of whether depression has taken hold that can be performed entirely on one’s own, within a private setting. Specifically these methods involve personal assessment for depression through the taking of a self-assessment test. Self-assessment tests for depression are quite common, and in fact are often used in professional settings during efforts to make a mood disorder diagnosis. Studies have found that people are typically quite honest in answering questions about their mood, and this may be especially true when answering questions in written form.

Depression self-assessment tests aren’t some arbitrary question and answer form: they are typically simple to perform, but have been designed to be exceptionally accurate in testing for depression and are based upon established psychological principles. In addition to asking particular questions about a person’s outlook, a credible depression self-assessment test will also typically gauge intensity and duration of symptoms. This type of inquiry can often distinguish between genuine depression and other, temporary mood disturbances.

Arguably the most popular of the depression self-assessment tests is the Beck Depression Inventory, or the BDI. The BDI was developed by Aaron Beck, a psychiatrist and well-known practitioner of the popular cognitive therapy form. The BDI came into use in the early 1960’s and has since been copyrighted and used on a large scale. The Beck Depression Inventory is composed of twenty-one questions with four possible responses each, with each response graded from zero to three. The BDI is completed entirely by the individual being assessed for depression, even when the BDI is performed in a clinical setting.

There are other depression self-assessment tests besides the Beck Depression Inventory, with many psychological resources developing their own depression self-assessment tests. Because of the tendency for depression to be expressed in emotional and physical terms, many if not all depression self-assessment tests are broken into assessment for psychological and physical symptoms. The psychological and physical symptom results are then combined to make as accurate of an assessment of depression status as possible.

Zinn Jeremiah is an online author. To find depression help resources, visit help depression or depression treatment.

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