People Do Not Tell Doctors About Depression Symptoms

A new survey over more that 1000 adults in California, done by University of California at Davis, shows that 43 percent of adults have some reluctancy about telling their doctors about possible depression symptoms. The reason for the withholding this information is the patients are worried that they will prescribed antidepressants. Antidepressants have many side effects that might frighten some people away. Some of the more common side effects are constipation, dizziness, headaches, weight gain/ loss, and sleep problems. Unfortunately for some young adults antidepressants have been linked to suicidal behavior.

Some of the surveyed people responded that they believe it is not their primary care physician’s job to “deal with emotional issues,” as a reason why they do not share their depression symptoms with their doctors. Others say they are worried that a depression diagnosis will show up on their medical records and worry an current or potential employer. Others believe that the prescribed antidepressants will not be effective for them. Antidepressants have about a 60% success rate as far as making people feel better, as reported by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. About 14% of the surveyed people reported that they did not want to be referred to counseling.

Robert Bell, the researcher from UC Davis, said, “Ironically, those most subscribed to potential reasons for not talking to a primary care physician about their depression tended to be those who had the greatest potential to benefit from such conversations”

Depression can be described many different ways, but most commonly as being unhappy, feeling blue and/or sad. Depression affects 6.7 percent of the United States, and the average age of on set is 32 years old. Everyone experiences these feeling at sometime or another, but when someone is suffering from clinical depression these feeling interfere with their everyday life and for extended periods of time. Depression can be brought on by many different episodes or life events. There are several possible causes and risk factors for depression. Depression can sometimes be caused by one or more of the following:

• Childhood events (such as abuse or neglect)
• Constant stress
• Drugs or alcohol
• Disappointment at home, work or school
• Social problems
• Sleeping problems
• Prolonged pain or illness

There are a few things that a person can do to help prevent depression and they revolve around keeping a healthy lifestyle.

Treatments for Depression

It is important to see a doctor if you are having symptoms of depression for two weeks or longer. There are several self-care activities that can be done to reduce symptoms of depression. Some people use herbs like St. John’s wort, but they do have potential drug interactions, so be careful and do research before you mix herbs and prescriptions. A few of the major steps a person suffering from depression that you can take are:

• Get regular exercise
• Keep a healthy diet
• Get enough sleep
• Avoid alcohol, marijuana and other recreational drugs
• Try different relaxation techniques such as meditation or yoga

Here is full list of treatments for depression, some options might work for you and others may not.

Do you hesitate to tell your doctor about depression symptoms? Or do you have any tips that work for you to help with your depression symptoms? Please share below in the comments.