Depression Screener (PHQ-9)

Depression is more than sadness or a low week. It is a persistent cluster of symptoms - low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, changes in sleep, appetite, and energy, and hard thoughts about yourself - that lasts and that weighs on daily life. This self-assessment is based on the PHQ-9, the most widely used brief screener for depressive symptoms, which asks how often these have troubled you recently and summarizes their severity.

This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. It screens for the severity of depressive symptoms; it does not, and cannot, diagnose depression. Only a qualified health professional can do that, through an evaluation that considers your history, context, and how symptoms affect your life. An elevated result here means your recent symptoms are frequent enough to be worth attention and a conversation with a professional - a starting point, not a conclusion. If you are struggling right now, please do not wait for a result to reach out for support.

The questionnaire has 9 items and takes about 4 minutes. It asks how often, over the past two weeks, you have been bothered by common symptoms of depression, including a question about thoughts that you would be better off not here. Your answers combine into a single severity result placed against established screening thresholds. If any part of this raises difficult feelings, or you have thoughts of harming yourself, please contact local emergency services or a crisis line right away - help is available and reaching out is a sign of strength.

The PHQ-9 measures a single thing: the severity of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks. Its nine items map directly onto the recognized symptoms of depression - low mood, loss of interest, sleep and appetite changes, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, feeling slowed down or restless, and thoughts of self-harm - and combine into one summed score that maps onto commonly used severity bands from minimal to severe.

Because it measures recent symptom severity rather than a diagnosis, your score reflects how much these symptoms have been troubling you lately, not a fixed condition or a statement about your worth. A higher score signals more frequent, more burdensome symptoms and a stronger case for professional support; a lower score suggests symptoms have been less troubling recently but does not rule anything out. The item about thoughts of self-harm is taken seriously at any level: any such thoughts are a reason to reach out for support now, regardless of your total.

The PHQ-9 was developed by Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams, originally within the PRIME-MD research program, as a brief self-report measure for screening and gauging the severity of depression in primary care. Its nine items correspond directly to the diagnostic symptoms of depression, and validation studies showed excellent reliability and good sensitivity and specificity against diagnostic interviews. It has become one of the most widely used depression screeners in the world, adapted for many languages and settings.

What it is not is a diagnostic test. Depression is diagnosed by a clinical evaluation that considers duration, context, impairment, and other possible explanations - none of which a short screen can capture. A high score is a reason to talk to a professional, not a diagnosis; a low score does not rule out depression if you are still struggling. Any thoughts of self-harm are taken seriously regardless of the total score. Used here as an educational self-assessment, it is best treated as a starting point for reflection and, where warranted, for support.