How do I know if someone is depressed?

Quick Question: How do I know if someone is depressed?

Last night I spent a good hour on the phone for a online newspaper interview on the subject of suicide and job loss. Crisis line calls have been up 20% in February 2009, and suicide rates traditionally rise as unemployment rises. 

Among other things, I talked about how not everyone who experiences a job loss is at risk for suicide. One of the most important factors to assess in someone is the degree of depression or depressed mood s/he is experiencing, whether their mood is related to a job loss or anything else. 

So I don't have to reinvent the wheel, here's a quick link to Dr. Oz (think Oprah's celebrity doctor) on the five prominent symptoms of clinical depression: 

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-depression-signs

I'm adding my two cents on the other "red flag" factors that co-workers, friends, and family can look for when someone appears to be depressed and may be at risk for suicide.

1) Sending you a message. These are obvious, such as giving away possessions, and making jokes like, "You'll miss me when I'm gone." There also may be some erratic attempts to connect with people to help them overcome their ambivalence and either further their depression OR give them hope to keep living. 

2) Having a plan to carry out a suicide. You must ask the person, even if their message is followed by, "I'm just kidding", whether or not they have thought of a plan to take their own life. Don't be afraid to ask upfront about this, and be careful not to joke about this. 

3) Ambivalence towards living or dying. A suicidal person is struggling with thoughts of deep despair against thoughts of the struggle they would need to face to survive whatever painful situations they face. If ambivalence is overcome, the risk for suicide is very high.

4) Support. Is the person talking to anyone, i.e. a friend, professional, clergy, partner, etc? Is s/he withdrawing from social activities?

5) What is the level of shame this person is feeling? The higher the experience of shame, the more likely a person will seek more desperate means of reducing that shame, including suicide or homicide.

6) Sudden euphoria. When a person who is depressed experiences sudden euphoria, this could be a sign that the person has made a decision to end his/her life, and the relief of that thought gets translated as almost a giddiness and lightness of being as s/he throws herself into planning the end of pain.

If you or someone you know is experiencing this kind of depression, do yourself a favor. Seek professional help early, and don't wait to see if this will blow over. With professional help, many people can stave off a serious bout of depression, recover, and build new skills to weather difficult times. 

www.seattledirectcounseling.com