Does this mean i suffer from depression?

i went to a website to look for the signs and symptoms of depression and this is what i did. on a scale from zero to ten i had to rate 10 being an everyday thing and 0 being not an everyday thing...
well under:
Sadness throughout the day, nearly every day---- 7
Loss of interest in or enjoyment of your favorite activities ---- 9
Feelings of worthlessness---- 7
Excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt ---- 4
Thoughts of death or suicide---- 0
Trouble making decisions---- 4
Fatigue or lack of energy---- 5
Sleeping too much or too little---- 10
Change in appetite or weight---- 10
Trouble concentrating ---- 4
Complaints of pain---- 5
Restlessness---- 2

now i have a very hard time getting to sleep. it takes hours before i actually go to sleep sometimes it takes so long that i only get a few hrs if any at all. i just toss and turn, one minute i'm hot, next i'm cold and that continues throughout the night. i hate it because i have school and work and i can't get sleep.

my appetite has changed drastically. i hardly eat any more. i don't eat breakfast, lunch and most of the time just a few bites of dinner and then i'm done. and that's my typical kind of day. and in the past few months i've gone from a size 16 in pants down to a size 13. but i was a 22 in pants almost 3 yrs ago but these past few months i've really dropped which i personally think is both good and bad. btw i'm 17.
my interests in the hobbies i used to love to enjoy have changed as well. i used to LOVE to play the sax and i did for 4 almost 5 yrs and that last yr i just kind of lost interest in playing so much that i would dread even going to practice. i basically just stopped trying. sometimes i wish i never stopped because i start to think about all the fun i used to have but i never go back to playing.
my dad suffers from depression and i was just wondering if i am as well and maybe that explains all the drastic changes i've noticed in myself as well as others around me have noticed long before i have. i take meds for hypothyroid so i know my hormones are outta wack and all i want to know is, is this depression or is this something else????????

I would look into it based on what you said, not the test. Those depression tests are utter crap.

yes, those are symptoms of depression. Depression is an illness of the nervous system in which neurotransmitters, dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin are not working properly and needs medical intervention. It feels awful, too. Please go to a doc and tell them what you have written here. You have to try different meds as you have to find the one that works for you as the anti depressants have one or combined properties of the neurotransmitters. Takes about 4-6 wks for effect and maybe need for 6 mo or more, otherwise, relapse, go to effexor.com and review phases of depression, and biopsychiatry.com for further explanation. either way, you need medication. Doesn't mean you are crazy, but it sure makes you feel that way, Depression affects physical functioning as well as mood and emotions, too, You don't have to suffer from this, so feel better by taking some medication. You can't talk yourself out of it any more than talking yourself out of diabetes or other illnesses.

Yes, I've been there. It has lessened somewhat over time.
I've had some depressive episodes and still do at times. Giving up the sax, really bad-that's what depression will do.
Depression is something that some people take light to.
Check out Compassionate Ear
4-10 pm 7 nights a week
1-866-927-6327 or check out 1800-273-TALK as well

Sorry, I didn't read it all, but please go see a doc, only they can diagnose you for sure, you certainly do sound like you're having some problems and it does sound like depression. Don't let yourself suffer like this when you could be getting some help. there really is help for you if that's the problem. your Doctor will get you sorted. remember all the Y/A friends you have here thinking of you. Stay strong and good luck.

I understand how you feel. seeing a therpaist, counseller or Pyschiatrist is the best thing, I can feel you had very bad expriences with them but it really takes time to find the CORRECT one for you, believe me it will feel like hell and the whole world does not understand you and you are just wasting your time along the way finding the CORRECT Psychiatrist but please believe me when you find the CORRECT Psychiatrist you suddenly feel like you won the lottery, you will feel there is hope and there is power to change yourself and make yourself a better person and be willing to talk to your family and get closer and make frineds and have a more stable and happy life. But the process is very painful but remember the outcome everytime you want to give up remember what i said to you remember the outcome will be the best prize for you....

Those are certainly the symptoms of depression. You did say your thyroid was underactive, and those are also symptoms of low thyroid. many times depression runs in the family. one good thing is that you don't think of suicide or want to commit suicide. It's either depression or hypothyroidism. You'd have to consult with your doctor to find out for sure. I've been depressed all my life so I'm more than familiar with all the symptoms. You want to catch this disease before it gets even worse.

Sweetie I feel for you. I've been there and yes I do believe you have clinical depression. The hardest part of clinical depression is that you can't just 'snap out of it' or 'cheer up'. your doctor should be your first port of call as he can prescribe antidepressants if needed. your brain is chemically unbalanced and needs some help to get back to normal. Jandy's explanation of how neurotransmitters etc work is spot on.

It seems to me that your body is chemically out of whack - the thyroid etc isn't helping - and you need a good doctor to help you get the balance restored. I know how this all feels and if it's clinical depression no talking to any counsellor will help because it's a medical/physical based problem. Please go to your doctor because I know how you are suffering and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Dearie, please email me directly so we can "talk" about this.
Although there are some awesome answers here from caring and sensitive people who speak both from experience and from their heart, I'd prefer not to respond with anything here because it would only be one-sided and I'd prefer to talk with you about this instead of at you. I care about what's happening to you. browneyedkat45@yahoo.com

It just astounds me the number of folks who suffer from depression these days. It's heartbreaking really. I'll look for you in my email, sweetie. Keep good thoughts.

Huggy Kat

Does this mean i suffer from depression?

Tags: 101, Act, Affect, Alan, Ally, Als, also, Anti, Anti Depressant, Anti Depressants, Antidepressant, Antidepressants, Anythin, Ass, Ave., basic, been, Before, better, body, both, Bra, brain, Break, Breakfast, Breaking, Brown, Care, Caring, certain, changed, changes, chemical, Clinic, clinical, Clinical Depression, close, closer, combine, come, Commit Suicide, Compassion, Complaint, continue, continues, Correct, crap, Dad, Days, DEAR, death, Decision, Decisions, Depressants, depressed, Depressio, Depression, depression test, Depression Tests, Depressive, Depressive Episodes, Diabetes, Direct, disease, doctor, Dow, down, Drop, Ease, effect, Effexor, Emotion, Emotions, ends, Energy, Era, Even, Ever, Excess, Excessive, experience, Family, Fatigue, feel, feeling, Feelings, find, Finding, first, Fri, Friends, from, Fur, gets, Going, good, good luck, Guilt, happen, happening, Hard, Hard Time, heart, Hell, help, Helping, Hope, Hormones, Hot, hours, Hypothyroidism, Illness, Illnesses, Inner, ins, Interest, Intervention, Ism, Keep, kind, King, Lack, LAST, Less, lessen, Life, light, little, long, Look, lose, loss, lost, Lot, Love, lt, Makes, medical, Medication, meds, member, Mine, Mit, month, months, Mood, Nation, Need, needed, Nervous, Neurotransmitter, neurotransmitters, Never, Night, norepinephrine, normal, nose, Od, Ones, only, pain, Painful, Part, Passion, peak, people, person, personal, Physical, Plan, play, plea, power, Pra, press, Problem, problems, Process, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, quot, Rain, rate, real, Really, Relapse, respond, Restore, Review, Rt, Sad, Sadness, School, sell, Sens, Serotonin, should, Side, Signs, Sit, site, Size, Sleep, Snap, Some, sorry, speak, Spot, star, start, stay, still, stop, store, strong, sudden, suddenly, Suffer, suffering, Suicide, Sw, Symptoms, Take, Takes, Talk, Ted, tell, Test, Tests, than, their, These, Thin, Think, Thinking, this, thoughts, Thyroid, Ties, Till, TIME, times, Trouble, Trying, turn, Umb, Under, Unders, understand, Urs, used, very, view, want, Website, week, Weight, well, Wis, work, works, World, Worse, Would, Yahoo, Yt