A stress depression test is an excellent way to find out if you have a problem with depression. A brain scan will tell you if you have high or low levels of Dopamine, which regulates mood and mental function. Also, a Neuroendoscopy can show if you are suffering from mild or severe depression. The test measures your brain activity as you answer a series of questions about yourself. High levels of Dopamine cause feelings of pleasure, excitement, energy, and optimism, just like a reward in food. Dopamine is released when a person is excited or happy. While high levels of Dopamine may be good for a healthy diet, it can be too high in some cases and result in depression. Some of the tests that measure brain function include Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological tests. A Functional MRI scan will show if there is abnormal activity in specific brain areas when you answer a questionnaire concerning your feelings of depression or anxiety. An example of this tes...
As a child of the eighties, I remember my parents' excitement over the idea of testing for depression in adults. The thought of taking a pill every day to "make me feel good," was a far more attractive option than the prescription drugs my parents were taking. I grew up with parents who could never imagine themselves as adults. In my mind, their adult emotions had to be somehow "determined" by some mental process that could never be completely understood by the average person. So they put aside their qualms about the use of psychiatric medications, and enjoyed the benefits of their choice. Today, I am an adult who have had "the experience" of having "depressed feelings," but not necessarily experienced the debilitating episodes of depression that my parents' generation did. Today, I have learned how to "cope." Through a course of prescribed medication and therapy, I have discovered how to treat depression, and I no longer take...