Good Healthcare Requires Treatment of Your Mind, Body, and Soul

Steps A Doctor Will Take To Help You With Depression Or Anxiety

24 January 2017 by Hugh Larson

Feeling anxious and depressed is something many people experience here and there, but these are not feelings you should be living with every single day. Depression and anxiety are treatable problems, and you should not ignore the feelings you are having if they are affecting your life. If you are not sure how to handle the issues, start by visiting a primary care physician at a medical center like Rural Health Services Consortium Inc. He or she can help diagnose your condition and treat it, and here are a few things to understand about this.

It Starts With A Discussion And Basic Medical Information

When you initially meet with a doctor, he or she will discuss multiple things that relate to your symptoms and your current health status. The first part will be to check your vitals and ask you questions about your health. Next, the doctor will want to know what exactly you are feeling and experiencing. This will include how long these symptoms have been going on and whether you have gone through any traumatic experiences in your life.

The doctor may then recommend taking a blood test to see if there are any health problems you have. For example, a blood test will reveal if you have thyroid issues. If so, this can often be the cause of depression and anxiety. If the thyroid issues are treated properly, you may not need to treat the depression, as it will be considered a secondary effect.

The Next Step Is An Evaluation Or Test

Doctors often use a test to diagnose mental health disorders, and there are many different types. Most of these tests work in similar ways, though. The doctor will ask you a series of questions, and you may be asked to rate how you feel with each one on a scale. While there are a lot of different types of tests doctors can use, some common ones include the following:

• Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale – This test is made up of 20 questions that can help diagnose anxiety.
• Beck Anxiety Inventory – This test is great for determining how severe your anxiety is, and it is made up of 21 questions.
• Penn State Worry Questionnaire – If the doctor suspects that worrying is your root issue, he or she may use this 16-question test to learn more about you.

There are many other tests the doctor may decide to use to diagnose your condition, and these tests are very useful for finding out what the problem is. Without a proper diagnosis, it can be very hard to treat the problem.

The Doctor Will Determine How To Begin Treating The Problem

If the doctor believes that you may have some type of mental health disorder, such as anxiety disorder, he or she will discuss methods for treating the problem. Treating any type of mental health issue is not easy to do, and every case is handled on an individual, unique basis. If the doctor finds a health problem, he or she is likely to treat this first before treating the anxiety or depression.

For treating depression and anxiety, the doctor is likely to recommend that you take an anti-depressant medication, and there are dozens of different types to try. You may need to try several types before you find one that is right for you.

The doctor may also suggest finding a therapist to visit on a regular basis, as this is often a great form of treatment for anxiety and depression. In addition, your doctor might recommend looking into natural forms of treatment, such as exercising and yoga.

Living with depression can make life miserable and hard, but you do not have to live like this. Visit a primary care physician today to find out what you can do about the way you feel.

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