by Christine Sutherland

Generally doctors and other health professionals aren’t keen on patients’ self testing for depression because the checklists can’t possibly be thorough enough for accurate diagnosis.  Not only can there be other reasons for the depression symptoms, but extreme scores can indicate other psychological problems quite apart from depression.

Most psychologists are familiar with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and with its developer, Aaron T Beck.  Beck devised a form of therapy called Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which is now under considerable attack because of its claimed ineffectiveness.  His company actually charged other psychologists a fee each time they used the BDI, so it’s not surprising, for several reasons, that new and better testing was required.

A BETTER TEST FOR DEPRESSION

These days we have the Lifeworks Joy Inventory, developed by The Lifeworks Group Pty Ltd in Perth, Western Australia.  It’s a very accurate test, and a side benefit is that it’s positively oriented, so that the act of taking the test begins to prepare the client to move forward.

The accuracy of the Lifeworks Joy Inventory has been thoroughly tested and mirrors results from other similar depression measurement techniques (such as the MADRS and the client’s own SUDS).

As well as being highly accurate, the Lifeworks Joy Inventory has another advantage:  it is completely free to use and may be distributed freely as well.  Designed as a gift to the field of mental health, it was hoped that more people would then benefit from free and easy access to quality testing.

So if you believe you or a loved one may be suffering from depression, you’ll find a link below to an interactive online test that will not only give you a depression rating and explain its meaning, but will also spell out what else you need to do in order to get a correct diagnosis.

One of the factors we address in the test results is that of extreme scoring.  In either case, whether a score is extremely high or extremely low, other health problems quite apart from depression are also suggested.

WHEN YOU’VE GOT YOUR TEST RESULT

Even if your test results appear to be “normal”, if you still suspect that you may be depressed, you should certainly still see your doctor because it’s neither normal nor healthy to feel that life is significantly unsatisfying.  Your doctor will do a thorough physical examination and ask a host of questions about your lifestyle etc to determine if there’s any medical problem.

Once you’ve seen your doctor and can be confident that you have a correct diagnosis, it’s then very easy to choose the right program that will get the results you want.

There is a proviso though:  I urge you not to believe any health professional (or any web site, no matter how authoritative) who tells you that depression is difficult to treat, or that it’s going to take a long time to get over it, or that you have to learn to accept depression as part of your life.  That type of belief belongs in the dark ages!  Research done world wide, including by The Lifeworks Group in Australia, has demonstrated that depression can usually be resolved very rapidly, usually in just a matter of days, and that better results are achieved without drugs for most patients.

Effective treatment must always involve careful investigation and moderation of 17 lifestyle factors that are known to cause depression or aid in the development of depression, and also the elimination of unconscious thinking patterns (thoughts and feelings) which serve to damp down normal brain function.

After all, if your lifestyle is healthy and truly “life sustaining”, and you feel mentally strong and optimistic, depression simply cannot co-exist with that state of affairs.  You have a whole life to get on with.

You might like to check the online, interactive (http://www.realhelpfordepression.com/depression-test.html) test for depression and see your results and the meaning of your score range instantly. Be sure to pick up your free copy of “17 Solutions” once you’ve finished your (http://www.realhelpfordepression.com/depression-test.html) depression test.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 1:02 am and is filed under Depression. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.