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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    How can you tell if someone has depression?

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    Depression Mental Health
    I'm a bit worried about a friend of mine (16yr old female). She's a perfectionist, taking on leadership and extra subject at school, is the sole confidant for another friend with depression, lots of uncertainty (and a very unsupportive environment) at home, and is often unwell (due to a preexisting medical condition). She feels exhausted and fatigued all the time, and gets little to no enjoyment out of activities that she used to enjoy, and works really really hard, does really well, but feels like (and actually believes) that she hasn't achieved anything. She sometimes has times where she doesn't speak more than a word or two, or just withdraws and stares off into space. I'm really worried about her - is there anyway for me to know if she is depressed, or just under a lot of stress?
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    Anthony Merritt

    Clinical Psychologist, Health Psychologist, Psychologist

    I have been a Clinical Psychologist for ten years. I initially specialised in health psychology with a focus on pain management. More recently my focus … View Profile

    You friend does sound depressed but she'd need to talk with either a GP or mental health professional to get a diagnosis. In my severe cases depression is often quite obvious, although it can manifest as something like anger or drug and alcohol problems, making it harder to detect. In less severe cases is may be more intermittant and harder to detect. For that reason it would be good to get her to agree to see someone.  

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