Doctor Visits
Talk with Your Doctor About Depression
The Basics
Overview
If you’ve been feeling sad or down and can’t seem to shake it, talk with a doctor or nurse about depression.
What is depression?
Depression is an illness that involves the brain. It can affect your thoughts, mood, and daily activities — and make you feel sad or down. But depression is more than feeling sad for a few days.
Depression can be mild, moderate, or severe. Even mild depression can become more serious if it’s not treated.
If you're diagnosed with depression, you aren’t alone. Depression is a common illness that affects millions of people in the United States every year.
The good news is that you can get treatment for depression. Getting help is the best thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones. You can feel better.
Check out these resources to learn more about depression:
Signs of Depression
What are the signs of depression?
It’s normal to feel sad sometimes, but if you feel sad or down on most days for more than 2 weeks at a time, you may be depressed.
Depression affects people differently. Some signs of depression are:
- Losing interest in activities you used to enjoy
- Feeling hopeless or empty
- Forgetting things or having trouble making decisions
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Gaining or losing weight without meaning to
- Thinking about suicide or death
Treatment
How is depression treated?
Depression can be treated with talk therapy, medicines (called antidepressants), or both. Your doctor may refer you to a mental health professional for talk therapy or medicine.
If you start taking medicine and it’s not working well enough, your doctor may have you try a different type of antidepressant. And if talk therapy and medicines aren’t helping you feel better, your doctor may suggest a type of treatment called brain stimulation therapy. These therapies use magnetic waves or electricity to stimulate the brain and treat depression.
Take Action
See a Doctor
Depression is a real illness. People with depression need treatment like people with any other illness. If you think you might be depressed, see your doctor or nurse.
Talk to a doctor about how you're feeling.
Get a medical checkup. Ask to see a doctor or nurse who can screen you for depression.
The doctor or nurse may also check to see if you have another health condition (like thyroid disease) or are taking a medicine that can cause depression or make it worse. If you have one of these health conditions, it’s important to get treatment right away.
What about cost?
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans must cover screening for depression. Depending on your insurance plan, you may be able to get screened at no cost to you. Check with your insurance company to find out more.
Medicare may also cover depression screening at no cost. If you have Medicare, learn about Medicare coverage for depression screening.
If you don’t have insurance, you may still be able to get free or low-cost depression screening. Find a health center near you and ask about screening for depression.
To learn more, check out these resources:
Get Treatment
Get treatment for depression.
When you have depression, getting help is the best thing you can do.
Ask your doctor for a referral to a mental health professional or use this treatment locator to find mental health services near you. Some programs offer free or low-cost treatment even if you don't have insurance.
Here are some places or professionals you can go to for help with depression:
- Doctor’s office or health clinic
- Family service or social service agency
- Psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist
- Counselor or social worker
Remember, even if asking for help seems scary, it's an important step toward feeling better.
Learn more about finding mental health services that work for you.
Get Support for Depression
Get support.
If you have depression, it can also help to get support from people around you. You don't have to face depression alone. A trusted family member, friend, or faith leader can help support you as you seek medical treatment.
Get ideas to build your support system.
Get active.
Getting active can lower your stress level and boost your mood, which can help treatments for depression work better. Keep in mind getting active doesn’t have to mean going to the gym — try taking a few short walks each week instead. Learn more about getting active.
If someone you care about is depressed, get help.
If you think a friend or family member may be depressed, check out these tips on how to talk to a loved one about depression.
Keep in mind that many people with depression have low energy and a hard time concentrating. This can make it difficult to do things like schedule appointments or remember to take medicines. Some things you can do to help include:
- Make calls or schedule appointments for your loved one
- Offer to accompany your loved one to their appointments
- Remind them to take their medicines
Get help right away if you or someone you know is thinking about suicide.
To get help for yourself or someone else, call or text 988 or check out the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. And if someone’s in immediate danger, call 911.
Content last updated August 22, 2024
Reviewer Information
This information on depression was adapted from materials from the National Institute of Mental Health, NIHSeniorHealth.gov, and the Office on Women’s Health.
Reviewed by:
Matthew V. Rudorfer, M.D.
Program Chief, Adult Interventions & Ethics Research
Treatment and Preventive Interventions Research Branch
Division of Services and Intervention Research
National Institute of Mental Health
