How to Talk to Your Doctor About Depression

Depression is a medical illness like other illnesses which includes feeling of hopelessness and inadequacy. It is a state of mental disturbance where there is lack of concentration and difficulty in maintaining the overall balance of life.

There are phases of depression where initially it can be only a reaction to the loss of something, difficulties in day-to-day activities, injured self esteem or any saddening instance. But when the sadness starts becoming intense, the normal phase transforms into a clinical condition which needs medical treatment.

The symptoms of depression are lack of energy, sleep and appetite imbalance, loss of interest in things which were interesting earlier, lack of decision-making, Gaining or losing weight and feeling of suicide. Since, suffering so badly, one should approach a doctor immediately and the following part will guide you on talking to your doctor about depression.

Many people experience depression but do not feel like sharing it with anyone or at times do not even accept that they have this problem. At the most, they will feel comfortable to tell it to their family members or close friends. There is nothing wrong in telling your friends about your depression unless it is only at the initial level.

They can listen to your problem and support you to cope with it. But, when the problem, as I have said earlier, is quite serious, friends or family members are not capable of giving you the correct solution. Only a doctor has the ability to diagnose the root cause and find out effective ways to treat your depression.

Although depression is a highly common illness all over the world, most people hesitate to communicate it to their doctor and it becomes really difficult for them to recover. I would like to tell you why there is the hesitation in talking to a doctor about depression.

It is normally experienced during late teens around the age of 20. At the onset of puberty, i.e., during the early teens there are physical, mental and emotional changes happening which are felt prominently throughout the teenage.

The hormonal changes bring in the feeling of depression and anger. The changes with physical and sexual growth are quite confusing and embarrassing to individuals and that is the reason why they feel awkward to talk to anyone about it. You should know that doctors deal with the depression cases on a daily basis and so they know the ins and outs of it.

In fact, the doctor might tell you the symptoms of your depression before you speak because they are common to all on the primary level. Here are a few points you can consider before visiting your doctor which will make you comfortable during the conversation:

Read as much as you can that is related to your problem. Take help from the reliable internet sources to gain information by reading relevant articles. Keep a notepad along with you to jot down the important points from the information.

If you find the entire article as a helpful piece of information, take a printout and read it carefully. Reading will let you know better about the condition and you will be able to discuss with the doctor about your approach towards the problem and the treatment options, you think might work well.

It is very important to be prepared before your visit to the doctor because if you are not able to tell your problem in the correct way and fumble while talking, it would only create confusion. Keep the current and past medications with you and produce them when the doctor demands.

If you are not confident about your speech, write down whatever you want to say. This write-up should also include the questions that you want to ask the doctor. This will ease the conversation and the doctor will get a clear picture of the problem.

Be frank and break the ice immediately. Begin by describing the symptoms of depression, as the symptoms will lead you both to the cause and the treatment options. Do not hide any fact regardless of how serious or casual it is because that single fact can be the key to your recovery.

Be sure that you are providing all the medical history and the symptoms correctly to your doctor. If you even feel like a particular incidence may be responsible for your depression, go ahead and tell it to the doctor. It will make the diagnosis quick and easy.

You might want to know a lot about the problem you are suffering from and want the doctor to answer your questions.

Here is a list of a few questions that you should ask your doctor:

• Do I have depression?
• What type of depression is it?
• Is it because of my present medical condition?

• Is it because of the current medications that I am taking?
• What can be the other causes of depression?
• What are the treatment options to recover from this problem?
• How long will I take to recover?

Keep in touch with the doctor to tell him about the progress in your condition because if the treatment is not working, the doctor won't know it unless you tell and the recovery will take a long time. Your feedback is the only medium through which the doctor plans further course of medications. So provide your doctor with correct information from time to time.

All the above guidelines will be helpful to you in telling your doctor about your depression and getting right treatment. Don't worry and tell everything related to your depression to the doctor and get well soon.