Being depressed can be dangerous. Far beyond the upset caused by being down in the dumps, being depressed can make a person subject to intense scrutiny by not only the
psychiatric profession at large, but also the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS).
A new preventive screening is being touted by CMS through the use of a mobile app. It is claimed that this will help primary care physicians locate signs that a person could become
depressed, bipolar, or subject to any of popularly diagnosed mental illnesses,
including alcohol abuse.
But isn’t this a good thing?
In a perfect world perhaps it would be. But in the real world, where being depressed is a precursor to addiction or damage by a psychotropic drug, where advertising for these
pharmaceuticals has reached a fever pitch motivated by billions of dollars
profit and where proof of most mental afflictions is nonexistent, it is
disturbing.
Putting one’s health care (of any kind) in the hands of those who profit from illness or misfortune is naïve. Depending on a 27 item questionnaire, filled out in three minutes to diagnose one’s mental state may be the height of gullibility, and is certainly a sign of
how far we have fallen in responsibility for our own health.
Certainly we have become gadget happy, dependant on mobile devices for everything from discovering our soul mate to gambling away our savings.
A case in point is psychiatrist Steve Davis who happily proclaims the app is “unique because it screens for four different disorders at once.” Perhaps psychiatrists can be replaced by a mobile device, but his free admission of the fact is rather
surprising.
With the psychiatric insistence that mental illness is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, shouldn’t there be a test to determine this, rather than a subjective questionnaire on a mobile app?
Here is what The Mayo Clinic offers in the way of testing for mental disorders:

• A physical
  exam to check vital signs. This includes checking blood pressure, heart rate,
  examining your abdomen and taking your temperature.
• Psychological exam. This includes discussing your thoughts and behavior by a mental health provider. You also might be asked to fill out a questionnaire. (this is not at all scientific and opens the door to subjective interpretation by the person reviewing the questionnaire)
• Laboratory Tests. Checking your thyroid function or screening for drugs and
  alcohol. This Mayo Clinic advice also  remarks that “lab tests aren’t necessary to diagnose a mental illness.”

Why are psychiatrists allowed to omit basic medical tests and with no evidence, administer psychiatric drugs?
Other medical professions use science to reach conclusions based on facts which have been tested and proven. But psychiatry and psychology have their DMV, which is appropriately referred to as a “Bible.” It does indeed seem to be based on a belief system, one which not even differing factions of psychiatrists can agree upon.
For the safety of you and those you love, it may be wiser to depend on common sense and natural treatments, including a change of environment and education which can significantly improve a depressed person’s mood. It has also been wisely stated that when a person helps another, he himself will feel less depressed.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mental-illness/DS01104/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis
http://mobihealthnews.com/16758/mental-health-screening-app-benefits-from-cms-payment-decision/