How to Know if You Are Depressed?

October 28, 2025

2 min read

According to the WHO, over a quarter billion people all over the world suffer from depression. Anyone can experience its symptoms, which include low mood, anxiety, and reduced energy. Do you think you are one of them? Check out!

Key takeaways

According to the WHO, over a quarter billion people all over the world suffer from depression.
Symptoms of depression
Necessary tests

Who this is for

People exploring Mental health through depression, stress.

Why it matters

This piece helps you get oriented quickly, then move into a collection or series if you want to keep going.

Article author

Dr. Halina

Psychiatrist

People often explain away depression by blaming fatigue or the weather. Depression is a serious disorder caused by the malfunctioning of neurotransmitters in brain neurons.

It is easy to check if you are affected by depression with the help of Beck's depression inventory, a popular tool available online on the web. Do your scores show that you have depression? If this is the case, it is necessary to consult with a medical professional and undergo medical tests to confirm the diagnosis and make sure that it is not something else.

Symptoms of depression

Low mood
Losing interest in things that previously brought you joy
Fatigue that doesn't let you engage — even in your regular routines
Losing faith in yourself and your abilities
Problems concentrating and managing daily tasks
Sleepiness and difficulty falling asleep
Eating disorders: decreased appetite or craving for food
Heavy thoughts about death
Uncomfortable bodily feelings: prolonged headaches, back pain, heaviness in the chest (sensation of a stone in the chest or a heavyweight pressing on you)

An international classification of disorders suggests paying attention to two main symptoms and three to four additional ones that last longer than two weeks.

Necessary tests

The diagnosis can be confirmed by the following examinations:

Clinical and anamnestic examination. This includes analysis of symptoms and comparing them with diagnostic criteria. During this examination, a medical professional asks questions about the patient's life and factors that impacted his or her condition.

Pathopsychological research. This helps a clinical psychologist give a medical opinion about the patient's emotional-volitional sphere, memory, thinking, and focus to conclude whether it is a depression or another disorder.

Examination by a therapist, neurologist, and endocrinologist. This can also be required as symptoms of depression are sometimes related to other disorders. Depression can be a symptom of another illness — for example, hypothyroidism, or be part of many interrelated psychological disorders, such as bipolar affective disorder.

Laboratory methods of examination. These are used to identify the cause of the depressive syndrome. Most likely, the patient will be sent for a test of the level of thyroid hormones TSH, free T3, free T4, AT to TPO, and AT to thyroglobulin. It is also advisable to check the level of other hormones (FSH, LH, prolactin, cortisol), have a general blood test and a blood test for serum iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium, and serotonin.

Instrumental examination methods. In some cases, an examination requires an electroencephalogram to measure the level of electrical activity in the brain, an electrocardiogram to diagnose arrhythmias or heart block, and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to exclude a brain tumor.

Not all of the above tests are specifically designed for identifying depression. Most of them can exclude the possibility of more serious disorders that have symptoms similar to those of depression and prescribe a proper treatment.

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