Am I Experiencing Depression?
Depression is a condition characterized by an extended period of low mood, anhedonia, and reduction in activity. Am I Experiencing Depression? is an indicative screening questionnaire designed to help clients self-assess whether their experiences might warrant further investigation.
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Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Client version
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
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Introduction & Theoretical Background
Depression is a condition characterized by an extended period of low mood, anhedonia, and reduction in activity. It is thought to be experienced by between 3 and 7 people out of every 100 (Kessler et al, 2005).
The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode include:
- Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day, or having a markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day.
- Four additional symptoms from:
- Significant weight loss or gain, with a decreased or increased appetite
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Psychomotor agitation or retardation
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Feelings of worthlessness, or excessive or inappropriate guilt
- Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness
- Recurrent thoughts of death, including recurrent suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, or a specific plan for committing suicide
The ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for a depressive episode include:
Therapist Guidance
Some people who report similar experiences to yours have a condition called depression. Would you like to try a short quiz that could give us an idea of whether this problem troubles you?
References And Further Reading
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
- Kasper, S. (2006). Anxiety disorders: under-diagnosed and insufficiently treated. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 10(sup1), 3-9.
- Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617–627.
- Hunter, E. C., Charlton, J., & David, A. S. (2017). Depersonalisation and derealisation: assessment and management. BMJ, 356.
- Stansfeld, S., Clark, C., Bebbington, P., King, M., Jenkins, R., & Hinchliffe, S. (2016). Chapter 2: Common mental disorders. In S. McManus, P. Bebbington, R. Jenkins, & T. Brugha (Eds.), Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital.
- Stein, D. J., Lim, C. C., Roest, A. M., De Jonge, P., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., ... & De Girolamo, G. (2017). The