Do I have clinical depression?

[Tikese]

So I'm a 19 year old male who has recently finished working full time for around 5 months on a construction site. I know it may sound quite obvious that my depression has flared ever since my last day on the job due to the sudden change in environment and routine, but for the last few days, my depression has reached to a point I've never experinced before. It started as i was working, due to the isolation and such long hours, but it has gotten a lot worse ever since i no longer work in the industry. I'm unmotivated to do anything, sleep strange hours, feel a general sadness and extreme mood swings. I'll also add that i am on medication for an anxiety disorder (OCD), which may play a role. I'm scared that i will soon be diagnosed with clinical depression, considering the fact that I'm already on meds and i still have it tells me that my depression is non-curable. Any thoughts?

[Blue_Jane]

Hi Tikese

First of all welcome to our forums. We hope you find them useful.

Sounds like it has been a huge five months. Not only is your mind exhausted, your body probably is too.

Have you been back to your GP since you finished work? If not it will be valuable to check in with them.

I can't comment on if you have clinical depression but maybe chatting to a psychologist or counsellor will help guide you through this change in your environment. I found a psychologist really useful as I got my anxiety under control. My view is that we don't cure our illness, but we learn to live with it. My anxiety has been a lot better over the past 18 months and it allows me to live a happy and full life.

What is next for you? Will you do another project like the one you have just finished?

Blue Jane

[geoff]

hi Tikese, perhaps if you google K-10, it's a test you can do by yourself and it will give you a score on whether or not you do have depression, try and do it a few times, not straight after each other, but different times of the day, so when you go and see your doctor or psychologist take these results with you.
Can I also suggest googling this 'best online ocd test', I also have OCD so I can imagine how you are feeling.
Anxiety comes under the heading of MH and is aligned with having depression, but the spectrum is pretty wide and covers so many different types of depression, and unfortunately once you have had it, it stays with you forever, but that doesn't mean that you can't get on with your life, all it means is that you maybe susceptible for any trigger to activate, causing you to have a relapse.
What you have to do is realise what these are, so that you can avoid them, but by having OCD sometimes this can make it difficult, however you can try and replace one habit and/or ritual with something else, that's something your mind has to accept without any anxiety. Geoff.

[White_Rose]

Hello Tikese

Welcome to Beyond Blue. Not entirely unmotivated as you found your way here. Great stuff.

You talk about your depression as an established fact then ask if you have a clinical depression. My guess would be yes from your description but you really need to talk to your GP for a reliable diagnosis. Geoff said google the K10 test, but a quicker way is to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Depression under The Facts. Follow the prompts. It is a good idea to complete the test a couple of times to see if you feel different at different times, and you can print out your results.

One trigger for depression is being out of work and/or working somewhere you dislike. Of course this is not the only cause and neither do your symptoms always point to depression. You do need a qualified person to determine this.

Being told you are depressed is not the end of the world. I have have been depressed for nearly 17 years, almost as long as you have lived. Yes there are times when it really screws up my life, when I feel helpless and hopeless. Learning to recognise those things that trigger a sad time is something I have learned as well as how to get up and go on with my life. Not easy but boy what a win for the good guys when it happens.

You are sleeping at odd hours, feel unmotivated, feel generally sad and experience extreme mood swings. All this started when you went to work on the construction site and gradually got worse. In addition you have OCD (diagnosed by a doctor?) and take anti-anxiety meds. That's a lot of pressure on you.

Depression is not a life sentence and for many people the depression goes away with treatment. One in five Australians will experience depression so you are not exactly on your own. Make a long appointment to see your GP. Take a copy of your post above or the whole thread if you wish and show/read it to the GP. The doctor will take it from there.

Mary