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2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

My sleep was restless.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I was unhappy.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I talked less than usual.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I felt lonely.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

People were unfriendly.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I did not enjoy life.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I had crying spells.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I felt sad.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I felt that people disliked me.

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

I could not get “going.”

0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)

1 Some or a little of the time (1–2 days)

2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3–4 days)

3 Most or all of the time (5–7 days)

This test is easy to score. It is simply an aggregation of the symptoms of depression. The more you have, the more likely it is that you are depressed. Add up the numbers you circled. If you couldn’t decide and circled two numbers for the same question, count only the higher of the two. Your score will be someplace between 0 and 60.

Before interpreting your score, you should know that a high score is not the same thing as a diagnosis of depression. A few people who get high scores are not in fact depressed, and people with low scores can still have a “depressive disorder.” A full-blown diagnosis of depression depends on other things, such as how long your symptoms have lasted and whether they have some primary source other than depression. A diagnosis can be made only after a thorough interview with a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist. Rather than giving a diagnosis, this test gives an accurate indication of your level of depression right now.

If you scored from 0 to 9, you are in the nondepressed range, below the mean of American adults; 10 to 15 puts you in the mildly depressed range; and 16 to 24 puts you in the moderately depressed range. If you scored over 24, you are probably severely depressed.

If you scored in the severely depressed range, I urge you to seek treatment. If you believe that you would kill yourself if you had a chance, regardless of the rest of your answers, I urge you to see a mental health professional right away. If you scored in the moderately depressed range and, in addition, you often think about killing yourself, you should see a professional right away. If you scored in the moderately depressed range, take the test again in two weeks. If you still score in that range, make an appointment