“As common as it is, it’s surprising that many people still believe that it’s something in which you can snap out of  — that it’s a weakness,” said Shelley Smith, West Texas Centers for MHMR CEO. “We all need to know how to respond to anyone who we think is depressed or who tells you that they are so depressed that they don’t want to live any more.”

 Tools to help people living with depression and their families will be available during a free depression screening on Friday, Oct. 10, National Depression Screening Day. National Depression Screening Day is held once a year by participating agencies to spread awareness and to provide information on depression.

 West Texas Centers for MHMR and Big Spring State Hospital have hosted a free depression screening in Big Spring each year since 2000, providing free evaluations and consultations to people who think they may be depressed, Smith said.

 But the screening can be just as helpful to people who may be living with someone they believe may be depressed.

 “We have so much information and a great number of people with whom they can talk to,” said Big Spring State Hospital Superintendent Ed Moughon. “The people we have helped in the past are just so relieved to have someone sit down with them for five or 10 minutes and give them their full attention and answer any question in which they may have about the illness.”

Many times, spouses accompany participants to the free screenings, Smith said. “They are just as eager to get help, sometimes even more so than the person who may be depressed. It’s a disease that affects the entire household.”

West Texas Centers and Big Spring State Hospital have three objectives for National Depression Screening Day:

 Provide screenings for people with depression.

Help participants recognize the warning signs of depression, which may lead to suicide.

Make information available to participants and their families who may be at risk and to provide information on where to access additional care.

The free depression screenings will be held in multiple locations throughout West Texas. In Big Spring, screenings will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Scenic Mountain Medical Center on the first floor conference room. West Texas Centers also is providing screenings in Winters, Sweetwater and Brownfield.

 Attendees will be presented with a brief explanation of the screening and a questionnaire asking a variety of questions regarding many of their thoughts and feelings. Following completion of the questionnaire, a mental health worker will review the answers and confer individually with each participant, Smith said.

 A diagnosis for depression or other mood disorders will not be made during the screenings and the screenings should not be considered a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis.

 A list of resources will be made available for people who need additional assistance, including educational materials as well as a list of treatment providers.

 West Texas Centers for MHMR and Big Spring State Hospital will offer the screenings, which are confidential and open to people of all ages, including children. However, parents may be asked to complete corresponding questionnaires for their children.

Locations for the Oct. 10 screenings are:

 Scenic Mountain Medical Center, 1601 W. 11th Place, Big Spring

First floor classroom

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, 200 E. Arizona St., Sweetwater

1st floor-ER classroom

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 North Runnels Hospital, 7821 East Highway 153, Winters

First floor

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 Brownfield Regional Medical Center, 703 E. Felt St., Brownfield

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 West Texas Centers for MHMR is the designated mental health provider in 23 counties in rural West Texas. Big Spring State Hospital is a 200-bed psychiatric hospital for people living in 57 counties in West Texas.

 For more information on the depression screenings, call (432).816.9257.