What does a doctor diagnose depression?

The doctor will diagnose depression in a variety of ways, such as consultation, psychological assessment scale, physical examination, medical history, etc.

1. The

doctor will conduct in-depth conversation with the patient to understand his emotional state, daily mood, changes in interests and hobbies, sleep, appetite changes, attention and memory, self-evaluation, self-blame, suicidal thoughts, etc.

2. Psychological assessment scales such

as Hamilton Depression Scale and Baker Depression Self-Rating Scale can quantify the symptoms of patients and help doctors assess the degree and characteristics of depression more objectively, but the results of the scale are only reference and cannot be diagnosed solely by relying on the scale.

3. Physical examination

excludes the possibility that physical diseases cause depression-like symptoms, such as hypothyroidism and other diseases may cause depression and other depression-like symptoms, which can be better diagnosed through examination

. The

doctor also considers the patient's family history, and if the patient's immediate family has depression, the patient's risk of depression may increase, which is also an important reference factor in diagnosis.