Are Your Quarantine Blues Really Depression?
It’s been a hell of a year, and you are not alone if you find that the pandemic has affected your mood. But are you suffering from a mild form of depression, or are you depressed that it is better to talk to a professional? Screening for depression can help.
Every year, the Calgary Counseling Center celebrates National Depression Screening Day (this year is October 8) with a free online survey . Based on your responses, you will receive a result “not recommended for further evaluation”, “recommended for further evaluation” or “highly recommended for further evaluation”. In other words, he cannot tell you for sure if you have clinical depression, but he can give you a recommendation on whether you should seek help .
The responses to the questionnaire are anonymous and confidential, which also means that no one will contact you afterwards. You get your results for your own information and you can provide answers to some additional questions to help researchers understand a thing or two about who they are achieving and how the test results compare to other things in your life. For example, last year’s test showed that people who completed the recommended amount of exercise in Canada tended to have lower (better) grades, and the lowest grades were among people who slept seven to eight hours each night. Sleep and exercise tend to help improve mental health, but mental health problems can also make it difficult to get enough exercise and sleep.
This year’s screening test includes asking if your symptoms of depression have worsened during isolation than before. Your answer here does not count towards your assessment – depression is depression no matter when you experience it – but it can help survey people understand how isolation has affected our mental health. The screening is done at test4depression.com , and whatever your outcome, you will receive a self-care toolkit at the end with advice on various ways to maintain your mental health.