In this section you will find:
How Do You Know If You're Depressed?
More than 20 million people in the United States suffer from depression. About twice as many women as men suffer from this medical condition. Major depression is an all-encompassing illness that affects a person's body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior.
Certain things can trigger an episode of depression. They include a stressful life event, genetics, physical illness, medications, drug or alcohol abuse, or hormone levels. Any one of these factors, or a combination of them, can make depression more likely.
Although only a trained healthcare provider is qualified to make a medical diagnosis, there are standard tools you can access to help you begin to determine whether symptoms you may be experiencing could indicate an underlying depression, and to help you speak with your healthcare provider about your concerns. This section contains commonly-used screening questionnaires. Each takes only a few minutes to complete, and comes with guidelines for evaluating your answers.
Could You Be Depressed?
The PHQ-9 Test
This tool is intended to help you begin to explore whether the feelings, thoughts or behaviors you are experiencing may be consistent with depression. It is not intended to take the place of an evaluation by a trained medical professional. After completing and scoring this questionnaire, should you be concerned and wish guidance, please share the results with a trained healthcare professional.
Could You Have A Sleep Problem?
The following two tools are intended to help you begin to explore the role sleep and possible sleep problems play in your daily life. They are not intended to take the place of an evaluation by a trained medical professional. If you are having trouble sleeping, a symptom that is often associated with depressive illnesses, please talk to your healthcare provider.
Sleep Assessment Questionnaire
Insomnia Severity Index
Additional Link to an Online Assessment
The following questionnaire can help you assess your risk for depression:
Depression Risk Assessment
Sources
The content for Self-Assesment was provided by the following NNDC sites unless otherwise specified above: