How do you know if you are going crazy or if your depression is bad enough to seek medical advice?

First, and foremost, if you think you need help you probably do...or at least you should check it out. If the symptoms you are expressing are interfering with your daily living you probably do need help. However, don't call yourself crazy, that has a negative connotation and starts you down a wrong road from the beginning making it more difficult to begin the healing process. Thinking positive from the start is important, especially when facing depression.





You can talk to your primary care doctor if you have one -- s/he can help sort through the feelings with you and, if it is a simple case of depression, s/he can prescribe a medication, recommend a therapist or both to help you out. If you are on a campus -- go to the campus health center -- they usually have a mental health center -- and usually those records are kept separate from your general medical records. Or you could go to the local county/city mental health center or call them and ask for the intake office and set up an appointment for a screening.





Some of the major warning signs would be 5 or more of the following every day: depressed mood most of the day; marked loss of interest in most of the day's activities; sleeping to much or too little; not eating or overeating; losing -- when not dieting or gaining 5% of body weight in a month; psychomotor agitation or retardation -- i.e. restlessness or listlessness not moving around; fatigue or loss of energy; feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt; diminished ability to think or concentrate or indeciveness; recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, or a suicide attempt.





The above is from the DSM-IV - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual that is used for diagnosing Mental Health Disorders.





So, think about whether or not your daily functioning is impaired and exactly whether you feel you need help -- and to be safe -- talk to someone.





Good luck!


MichelleHow do you know if you are going crazy or if your depression is bad enough to seek medical advice?
If your really depressed then you do need to see a dr. or psychiatrist. Sometimes we just get stressed out and can go crazy and thats ok. depression affects your everyday life, and you feel hopeless, worthless. You can have trouble sleeping, concentrating, and even can have thoughts of hurting yourself or others. If you have these symtoms for a month or longer than you do need to seek medical help.How do you know if you are going crazy or if your depression is bad enough to seek medical advice?
The ';depression'; that you experiencing is called life!





It doens't always go your way, it isn't all joy and happiness, it isn't always interesting...





Life is exactly what you make it.





Unless you can't eat, can't sleep, can't function at all because you are so depressed - you don't need medical advice...





You need to put some effort in.
no one who is depressed is ';going crazy';. and it doesnt matter your level of depression you always need to seek help, whether it be friends, people in the church, or professionals. you shouldnt wait until you think your depression is bad enough to seek help. anytime you feel that way you should talk to someone. even something as simple as talking can help. but my opinion would be that only you can tell how bad your depression is and you should seek help, but you should keep your friends and family around and involved because they may be the ones to get you through it
They answer that we give to all our patients is that if any condition whether it is physical or mental, causes you concern, then it is time to seek medical attention. If the depression is affecting your ability to function on a day to day basis or reaches the point of suicidal thoughts, even fleeting ones, need to be addressed.
Ask yourself this...do you still care and enjoy your daily activities and possessions? Do you feel all alone?





You can try to help yourself by writing in a journal. Some people can reflect back in it and see what might be causing the problem and others just like to vent in a journal and that helps them relax.





You can check your local hospital sometimes they offer group sessions or workshops on dealing with depression.





Make sure you eat right, get sleep, and try to get some exercise.





If that doesn't help then yes please seek medical advise.
It can't hurt you to seek medical advice. In fact, I would suggest it... if you are wondering how depressed you have to be to seek help, you are probably already depressed enough. I'd say when in doubt go see a doctor! It's always better to be safe than sorry! Good luck!
If you're asking this question, then it's time to get help. Go to a counselor. They have a way of showing you a different way of looking at a situation. No magic to it, just an experienced objective observer. Peace and revelation to you.
The barstard is that if you are together enough to ask, then you don't need help. When you slip beyond thinking if you need to ask, then it's too late.
If it interferes with your daily activity you need to seek help.
Just go seek medical advice they'll sort you out, x
Get professional help they will get to the bottom of your feelings and know what is best for you. Good Luck