Depression is a common but serious disease that ranges widely in severity. If you have a milder
case, you may struggle with symptoms that include sadness, irritability, anger,
and fatigue that lasts for weeks or
longer. Such depression interferes with your daily
life and relationships.
But some cases of depression are more severe, with intense symptoms that may include significant appetite and weight loss, sleep problems, and frequent thoughts of death or suicide. Such depression can be paralyzing. You may isolate yourself and have trouble getting out of bed or leaving the house.
Types:
- Major depressive disorder
- Persistent depressive disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Postpartum depression
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Seasonal affective disorder
- Atypical depression
Symptoms of severe depression:
Not all people with risk factors will be suicidal. In
addition to depression or other mental illness, risk factors for suicide
include:
For people who are severely depressed, suicide is a real
threat. Each year, about 30,000 people in the U.S. take their own lives,
although the true number may be higher. Some suicides go unrecognized because
they're classified as accidents, drug overdoses, or shootings. Among people
whose depression remains untreated, up to 15% will kill themselves.
What are the warning signs of suicide? According to the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline,
they include:
Guidelines
such as those found in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) helps doctors and mental health
professionals systematically assess a person's symptoms. These criteria can be
changed and are periodically updated when new research findings become
available.
Quantitative
scales help researchers measure and organize symptoms, as well as designate a
“cutoff point” for what’s considered “severe depression” for the purpose of a
specific study. However, methodologies vary between studies and researchers,
meaning there isn’t a single definition of severe depression across the
board.
Researchers
have been using such scales since the 1960s. One of the first, the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale is still sometimes used today. However, in current
clinical practice, there are many more scales available that are better suited
for doctors to use with patients. There are even scales patients can use on
their own to track or self-report depression symptoms.
While scales can offer key insights, they tend to
be quiet different from one another. The way
they are administered, the questions they ask,
and the way the answers are interpreted may
not be the same from one scale to the next.
A lack of
standardization means that if a person’s depression symptoms are assessed with
different scales by different providers, the diagnosis may not be consistent.
Some providers don’t use them in clinical practice unless a patient is taking
medications, whereas others use them regularly.
The
inconsistencies of the tools, their use, and interpretation can make it
challenging to determine the severity of someone’s depression, as different
scales may provide different (even conflicting) results.
Some of the
most popular depression scales include:
Seeking medical care
Seek emergency help if
you
Have suicidal thoughts
Might harm yourself or
others
Make an appointment to
see a doctor if you
Feel depressed.
