Question: How do you know if someone is addicted or depressed?

Emily Mattacola answered on 12 Nov 2019:

We have some criteria we can measure people against to see if what they’re experiencing is of a normal level, or if it’s serious enough that we would class it as a mental health condition. These criteria come from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5). We can then compare someone’s symptoms against the criteria to see if their symptoms are severe enough for them to get a diagnosis. For example, the criteria for depression are that the person must have been experiencing five or more of the symptoms during the same 2-week period, and at least one of the symptoms should be either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in their normal activities.