Depression: It's National Depression Screening Day!!

Happy National Depression Screening Day! I know it's almost over, and it's been an annual event since 1991, but I just found out about it 5 minutes ago. Pop on over to http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/ to find a screening center in your area. I'd have sent you a card but Hallmark doesn't seem to have branched out into this holiday. However, I think it's telling that a quick search for National Depression Screening Day at Hallmark.com yields cards with names like "It's Great to Work with You" and "A Better Place to Work". If you think that's depressing, you won't believe where one of the screening centers is in my home state: Wal*Mart! I can't think of anything more depressing than getting psychologically evaluated at Wal*Mart.

Of course, one shouldn't wrinkle one's nose at free evaluation if one can't afford the bill. If you have been wondering about your blue funk lately, do get evaluated. Maybe you're not going crazy, or maybe you're not as bad off as you fear. There's only one way to find out.

Comments

. said…
Thank you for being talking about National Depression Screening day. Screening for depression is one of the most effective ways of catching this disabling condition so that it can be effectively treated. But why only 1 day a year? Because it takes too long to administer the screening. So to overcome that, we at AuroraMD automated the screening process, so that it happens automatically in the primary care waiting room with little staff time. Then the results are presented to the doctor in the exam room. See our website http://www.auroramd.com .
Is your doctor screening everyday?
October 11, 2005 10:07 PM
D.R. Cootey said…
Something like this would be useful for HMOs and medical clinics where patients are ground through like cars in a McDonald's drive-thru. It's time saving only for the doctor, though. The patient still needs to take time to fill out the survey and one would hope that the doctor would take some time to study the patient before prescribing medications. See my blog on the new blood test for Anxiety to see what the future may hold on the horizon.
October 12, 2005 7:44 AM
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