If you suspected that you were suffering from a physical ailment, such as diabetes, pneumonia, or a broken bone, you would most likely take immediate steps to get your health checked out and the issue taken care of. For some reason, that is usually not the case for anxiety, depression, or other mental health ailment disorders. Although the stigma surrounding these diseases has lessened, many still hesitate or refuse to take the necessary steps to be diagnosed with and treated for mental health disorders.
However, as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, today has been designated National Depression Screening Day by a non-profit organization that focuses on large-scale mental health screenings. The goal of today is to encourage and make it easy for people who are suffering from symptoms of depression to undergo a free, confidential screening for depression.
National Depression Screening Day aims to raise awareness of depression while making screenings readily available to those who may be suffering from the disease. Today, more than 3,000 sites in Southern California and throughout the country will be offering free, confidential screenings for depression.
It is important to note that a screening does not constitute a medical diagnosis. It merely indicates the presence or absence of symptoms of depression and connects people with opportunities for further evaluation and treatment, if necessary.
We will continue our discussion of depression in a second blog post tomorrow, which will include more information about common symptoms of the disease and how a diagnosis of depression may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.
Source: Mental Health America, “National Depression Screening Day“