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A private observation tool

Depression Questionnaire

Does the person you care about have depression?

Answer the following questions based on how the person you are concerned about seems to have been most of the time over the past two weeks.

0 Yes answers out of 20; 20 questions unanswered.

0Yes

0 Yes answers out of 20

20 questions unanswered

Take your time. You may find it useful to print this questionnaire, complete it based on your observations, and bring it to their psychologist or doctor.

For most of the time over the past two weeks:

Symptoms of Depressive Illness

0 / 20
  1. 01Have they had trouble focusing and remembering when reading or watching television?[Unanswered]
  2. 02Have they had more trouble with their memory than usual?[Unanswered]
  3. 03Have they been feeling unusually tired every day?[Unanswered]
  4. 04Have they found it hard to enjoy life?[Unanswered]
  5. 05Have they had a lot of different physical symptoms or multiple pains?[Unanswered]
  6. 06Have they mentioned feeling emotionally numb, not caring, sad, unhappy or miserable?[Unanswered]
  7. 07Have they been more pessimistic or negative than usual?[Unanswered]
  8. 08Have they lost interest or enjoyment in the things they normally do?[Unanswered]
  9. 09Have they been less motivated, less productive, or found it more difficult to cope than usual?[Unanswered]
  10. 10Have they been sleeping worse than usual?[Unanswered]
  11. 11Have they been less interested in talking to people or mixing with people than usual?[Unanswered]
  12. 12Have they been more worried, nervous or uptight than usual?[Unanswered]
  13. 13Have they been more easily tearful, or crying more than usual?[Unanswered]
  14. 14Have they enjoyed their food less than usual?[Unanswered]
  15. 15Has their sexual interest been less than usual?[Unanswered]
  16. 16Have they been less self-confident than usual?[Unanswered]
  17. 17Have they been more anxious, nervous or worried than usual?[Unanswered]
  18. 18Have they been more easily annoyed or more impatient than usual?[Unanswered]
  19. 19Has life seemed meaningless to them?[Unanswered]
  20. 20Has dying looked to them like a good option?[Unanswered]
0Yes

0 Yes answers out of 20

20 questions unanswered

Understanding the Result

Answering “Yes” to more than 4 or 5 questions suggests they could have depression. Answering “Yes” to lots of the questions makes it increasingly likely they do have depression—an illness that can cause a great deal of suffering and worry for those close to them, but one that can be very effectively treated.

If you find they have a large number of symptoms, it makes the diagnosis more certain, and it also provides a bigger chemical target for antidepressant medications to assist you.

If the person is completely their normal self for some periods, and then miserable, this suggests a reaction to problems rather than depression.

This is a clinically derived questionnaire, which has not been statistically investigated.

This site is medical information only, and is not to be taken as diagnosis, advice or treatment, which can only be decided by your own doctor.

You may use this questionnaire in your research, on the understanding that you will give the source and reference Clinical Associate Professor David Horgan.

Source: depression.com.au/symptoms/depression-questionnaire

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Depression Questionnaire