Lifestyle Corner

Rona Barrett. Halle Barry. Delta Burke. Barbara Bush. Sheryl Crow. Ellen DeGeneres. Queen Elizabeth. All extremely accomplished women. All with a history of depression. All successfully treated. Don't be afraid to add your name to this list. You'd be in good company.

Depression is an extremely treatable disease. More than 80 percent of people who receive successful treatment recover from a depressive episode.

But with depression, perhaps more than with most diseases, successful treatment depends on you as much as on your health care professional. You have to be willing to seek out treatment, work with your health care professional to pinpoint a diagnosis, develop a treatment plan and follow the recommended treatment. All this requires that you communicate effectively with your health care professional about your illness.

Years ago, our medical system was based on a paternalistic model, in which doctors told us what to do and we listened. No more. Now the relationship between you and your physician or other health care professional should work as a partnership. That's never more important than when you're dealing with a disease like depression, for which there is no simple blood test or x-ray for diagnosis, only your own feelings and sense of what's "normal" about yourself. So it's important you find the right medical professional for you.

As you search for a health care professional, keep in mind that you have a right to expect certain things, including privacy, confidentiality and respect, sensitivity to your needs and cultural background, an understandable explanation of your condition and treatment options and the freedom to express yourself. Also know that you have the freedom to find another health care professional if things don't work out.

Be honest with your health care professional. Talk about how you've been feeling, eating and sleeping, and how it differs from your usual routine.

Bring up any major changes that have occurred in your life lately, such as relationship problems, a job loss or an illness. Tell him or her if you're drinking or using any drugs, and be honest about any thoughts of death, suicide or self-harm you've had, now or ever. If you're too depressed to communicate so specifically, consider bringing someone who knows you well to share observations about how the illness affects you.

Also make sure you share which medications (prescribed and over-the-counter, including herbs and vitamins) you're already taking. Either bring them with you to the appointment or bring a list of types and dosage. This is very important since medication is often a part of treatment for depression and you want to avoid any possible interactions.

If you feel uncomfortable with the medical professional you've chosen, or you think the treatment isn't working, don't be afraid to find someone else to work with. In fact, 25 percent of women polled in a 1996 Commonwealth Fund survey said their health care professional had "talked down to them," while 17 percent said their symptoms "were all in your head."

Believe me, depression is not all in your head. It is a very real, very dangerous disease; one for which you deserve the very best in treatment. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Questions to Ask Your Health Care Professional

• Can my depression be cured?

• Will my depression come back?

• What are my treatment choices?

• How long will I need treatment?

• How can I find out if my insurance will pay for treatment?

• If you're seeing a primary care physician) Should I see a specialist for

If medication is prescribed:

• How and when should I take the medicine and for how long?

• Are there any side effects associated with this medication?

• What foods, drinks, other medicines, or activities should I avoid while taking this medicine?

• What symptoms should prompt me to call you?

• Are there any reasons I should stop the medication?

• Is there any danger when stopping this medication?

Learn more about "Women and Depression," in the August 2003 issue of the National Women's Health Report. Order online here, or call: 1-877-986-9472.

Pamela M. Peeke MD, MPH, Pew Foundation Scholar in Nutrition and Metabolism, is Medical Advisor to the NWHRC; she also is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and author of the best selling book Fight Fat After Forty (Viking Press, 2000).