Psychiatrist diagnosing an individual means that he/she is suffering from mental health condition namely depression. It is very much similar to a Cardiologist diagnosing an individual with a heart condition namely myocardial infarction or MI.
In both cases, the doctor takes a history and conducts necessary physical/mental state examination. Unfortunately, in depression, there is no laboratory test to confirm the diagnosis (there may be one available in future) as in MI, where ECG, Echo suggest and more advanced Angiogram confirms the diagnosis.
Nevertheless, both conditions are studied in detail and evidence for treatment and benefits are confirmed. Irrespective of advances in treatment, depending on the severity and other factors, there may be a few, in both cases, who may have an adverse event (deaths due to MI and not getting better in depression).
The challenge of depression or any mental illness is lack of awareness and the stigma in the society. When having or not having MI easily becomes a topic of discussion in any gathering including the money spent, mental health issues are hidden behind the closed doors as nobody likes to be labelled “mentally weak” or feel embarrassed by disclosing his/her family member or friend's depression.
Please break the barriers and help people seek advice for mental health and wellbeing issues.
Best wishes.