In order to ensure proper treatment is provided, a patient must first be given a physical examination in order to rule out any physical anomalies that may be responsible for psychological symptoms. Particular medications are available for those affected by some medical conditions responsible for viral infections who have caused depressive symptoms. Through extensive examination, the psychologist is able to negate these as possible causes of your condition, as well as refer you to a psychiatrist for further medication.

Diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder

At the start of the diagnostic phase, you’ll receive basic information of your symptoms: when it started, how long they’ve remained and lasted, how impacting and severe they are, if you’ve had these symptoms before, and if those symptoms were treated and how. Your psychologist will naturally request information about alcohol consumption, its frequency and so on, including drug abuse and family history. Naturally too your doctor will ask information about whether you’ve had thoughts of suicide, perhaps even death. Most importantly, your psychologist will ask you what effective medication and therapies that have helped you in the past, if you had any depressive illnesses.

Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder

Finally, your doctor may conduct a psychological evaluation to determine whether speech or thought patterns may have been disturbed, including memory, since this is a prevalent concern for those suffering from severe depression and/or manic depressive disorder.

Based on the outcome of your treatment evaluation, your doctor will refer you to a psychiatrist and after some more discussion, your psychiatrist or psychotherapist will prescribe you antidepressants used to treat your severe depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia, and so on. Based on the severity of your mood disorder, your psychiatrist will provide the effective dosage including combined treatment with other therapeutic methods. These therapeutic methods will offer you a way to dealing with your depressive symptoms and allow you to control the extent and severity.