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DEPRESSION: A PRIVATE SNAPSHOT

Depression is now the common cold of mental illness. At any given time as many as 25% of us are probably going through an episode, at least in its mild form. Depression changes the way you think, the way you feel, the way you act, and the way your body responds. Depressed people often think of their problems as permanent, they feel lousy, they can't get started on things, and they don't eat much or make love. Life itself can come to seem futile and meaningless.

Oddly enough depression turns out to be a recent phenomenon. Studies by the National Institute of Mental Health and others have found that depression was much less common a problem at the beginning of this century, and that the problem has grown with each generation. People born in the middle third of this century are ten times more likely to experience depression than people born in the first third -- and the age at which depression first strikes has dropped from 35 to 25 years old. Think of it this way: Not only did your grandparents not have Prozac, they apparently were much less likely to need it.

While we have no simple answers to what has caused this epidemic or what should be done to solve it, we do have some pretty strong clues. But first, here's a quick (and completely private) depression check-up developed by Lenore Radloff while at the Center for Epidemiological Studies at the National Institute of Mental Health. Answering these 20 questions will give you a snapshot of your level of depression, if any, right now.

0 = Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day); 
1 = Some or a little of the time (1-2 days); 
2 = Occasionally (3-4 days); 
3 = Most or all of the time (5-7 days).

 

During the past week...

 

I was bothered by things that usually don't bother me.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt that I could not shake off the blues even with help from my family and friends.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt I was not as good as other people.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt depressed.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt that everything I did was an effort.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt hopeless about the future.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I thought my life had been a failure.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt fearful.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
My sleep was restless.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I was unhappy.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I talked less than usual.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt lonely.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
People were unfriendly.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I did not enjoy life.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I had crying spells.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt sad.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I felt that people disliked me.
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time
I could not get "going."
Rarely 0 1 2 3 Most of the time