Depression Symptom Screener – Revised

Depression is not just sadness. Everyone can feel blue, down in the dumps, or sad at times. Emotional reactions to life’s ups and downs are natural. It’s normal to feel sad when you grieve a loss of a loved one, lose your job, or experience disappointments. Occasional low moods are not depression because the sad feelings eventually go away.

Depression is a common, serious mental health condition. Everyone feels sad at times, but depression is different than normal sadness or grief. Depression can affect how you think, feel, and behave. It makes it hard to function at home and work. You may lose interest in activities you once enjoyed. Some people with depression may feel worthless and might even think about harming themselves. Depression may also be part of other mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder.

Because depression is a common mental health problem, depression screening is often done as part of a routine health checkup. Medical experts recommend that depression screening should be done for everyone starting at age 12. Screening can help find depression early. And treating depression early may make recovery faster. Most people with depression will get better.