This tool will allow you to check if you may be suffering from depression based on the PHQ-2 questionnaire.

What is depression?

Depression is a mental health disorder. It’s not the same as being sad or down in the dumps. It’s when these feelings don’t go away for a long time and start to affect your ability to function normally. Depression can be treated, but it’s important that you get help right away because untreated depression can make life very difficult.

When you experience symptoms of depression, they may last weeks or months at a time and interfere with everyday activities such as sleeping, eating, and working. Some people have only one episode; others have repeated episodes throughout their lives.

Depression is the most common mental disorder in the U.S., affecting more than 19 million Americans each year.

It can be linked to a wide variety of factors—genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological—and most people with depression have more than one of these contributing to their condition. Depression is often treated with medication along with psychotherapy; however, it can also be prevented by lifestyle changes like regular exercise and getting enough sleep every night.

Depression symptoms

Depression can cause the following symptoms:

  • Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness, or hopelessness
  • Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies, or sports
  • Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much
  • Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort
  • Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
  • Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
  • Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when things aren’t going right
  • Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
  • Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide
  • Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters

Anger is a normal emotion, but when it is excessive or inappropriate, it can be a sign of depression.

Anger may be caused by many things including stress and anxiety, the loss of a loved one, grief over the death of a pet or other family member, or an underlying chemical imbalance in the brain.

Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports

Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies, or sports.

This is a common symptom of depression. It can occur because you’re not taking an interest in things that you usually enjoy doing, but it also may be a sign of other problems such as anxiety or substance abuse.

It’s essential that you see your doctor for an accurate diagnosis and treatment if you’re experiencing a loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities as this could be caused by another illness or condition. You may need to change your lifestyle to help prevent further loss of interest and pleasure including socialising regularly with friends; making time for relaxation; exercising regularly; eating well; drinking plenty of water daily and reducing alcohol consumption if necessary.

Slowed thinking, speaking, or body movements

Slowed thinking, slowed speaking, and slowed body movements

Depression is characterized by a depressed mood or loss of interest in activities that you normally enjoy. You may also experience changes in sleep, appetite, and weight.

How to use the depression screening by PHQ-2 calculator

The PHQ-2 questionairre determines your risk of having major depression or any depressive disorder, based on two questions:

  • Depressed mood over the last two weeks
  • Anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure) over the last two weeks

FAQ

What is considered a positive PHQ-2 score?

Anything under 3.

What’s the highest depression score?

With the PHQ-2, the highest possible score is 6.

Is there a connection between anxiety and depression?

Anxiety and depression share many of the same risk factors, such as genetics, environmental stressors, and traumatic experiences