Online Depression Screening
Reflecting on mood through an online wellness check can help you better understand how you are feeling. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. It is estimated that there are 350 million people worldwide who have some form of depression1. In the United States, 16 million people had a depressive episode in the past year. Moreover, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. But how to understand that a person has depression? For this, various questionnaires are used to screen for depression and assess its severity (degree of depression). Such, for example, as PHQ-9. In general, screening and assessment tools for depression and anxiety include questions about mental health symptoms.
Screening for Depression
A short self-reflection quiz can help you decide whether it might be useful to speak with a mental health professional. According to the DSM-52, clinicians look for clusters of symptoms before diagnosing depression; these symptom lists can help you recognize patterns worth mentioning to a healthcare provider. These reflection tools can make it easier to notice mood shifts early and gently remind you to reach out if you need support. Symptoms are:
- depressed or sad mood,
- short-tempered or easily annoyed,
- loss of interest or enjoyment in hobbies or activities that was previously enjoyed,
- feeling of worthlessness or guilt,
- thoughts of death or suicide,
- difficulty with concentrating or making decisions,
- feeling tired or fatigue,
- feeling restless or slow,
- changes in appetite such as overeating or loss of appetite,
- changes in weight such as weight loss or weight gain,
- and changes in sleep pattern.
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If several of these feelings persist, consider discussing them with a qualified professional to get personalized guidance. In addition, below 👇 you can take a depression questionnaire and even determine its severity.
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Online Depression Screening
Use the questions below to reflect on your emotional wellbeing; they are meant for personal insight rather than any clinical assessment. Online depression screening tools are designed to help you identify possible symptoms early and better understand your emotional state. It is important to remember that online depression screening only detects signs of depression or anxiety — a full diagnosis of depressive or anxiety disorder requires a deeper clinical assessment by a mental health professional.
» Feeling lost in emotions? Discover the science behind the Mood Diary.
The PHQ-9 Evidence Appraisal
The PHQ-9 was initially developed by Kroenke et al (2001), as a subset of 9 questions from the full PHQ. It had previously been derived and studied in a cohort of 6,000 patients3. While the PHQ-9 has been studied in clinical settings, we present it here simply as a familiar set of reflective prompts for tracking your mood. Criterion validity was also assessed in a sample of 580 patients. self-administration takes 5–7 min.
Beck’s Depression Inventory Online Test Evidence Appraisal
The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is currently one of the most widely used measures for assessing depression4. The questionnaire was developed from clinical observations of attitudes and symptoms occurring frequently in depressed psychiatric patients and infrequently in non-depressed psychiatric patients5. The questionnaire is commonly self-administered although initially designed to be administered by trained interviewers. Self-administration takes 5–10 min.
These questionnaires can help you notice patterns in your mood over time; results are for personal awareness and should be discussed with a professional for any clinical interpretation.
Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36)
SF-36 is a set of generic, coherent, and easily administered quality-of-life measures. These measures rely upon patient self-reporting and are now widely utilized by managed care organizations and by Medicare for routine monitoring and assessment of care outcomes in adult patients. Self-administration takes 8–14 min.
Geriatric Depression Scale: Short Form
The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) has been tested and used extensively with the older population. The GDS Long Form is a brief, 30-item questionnaire in which participants are asked to respond by answering yes or no in reference to how they felt over the past week. A Short Form GDS consisting of 15 questions was developed in 1986. Self-administration takes 4–7 min.
GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7)
SThe GAD-7, or Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the severity of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms in individuals. It consists of seven questions that ask about common anxiety symptoms and their impact on daily life. GAD‑7 questions are shared here for personal insight; only a clinician can assess or diagnose anxiety disorders. Self-administration takes 3–5 min.
Pros and Cons of Depression Screening
Above all, еhere is not thought to be any significant harm associated with screening for depression and anxiety. However, some people worry that screening and assessment tools may lead to incorrect diagnoses. Therefore, it is important to remember that screening tools only detect symptoms of depression or anxiety.
At the same time, screening tools can detect most, but not all, cases of possible depression and anxiety. We already talked about connection between our minds and our bodies. So, the main advantage of screening tools is that they are quick and easy. And it’s true for its use and interpreting. A limitation is that they simplify complex experiences and impose artificial symptom thresholds.
It is important to remember that screening tools only detect symptoms of depression or anxiety. Diagnosis of depressive or anxiety disorder requires deeper assessments.
FURTHER READING
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Source: ©️2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserve
- World Health Organization. Depression
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
- Spitzer 1999
- Assessment of depression in medical patients: A systematic review of the utility of the Beck Depression Inventory-II
- Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock J, Erbaugh J. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1961;4:561–571
