Depression Test: Is It Sadness or Something More?

Have you spent days with no motivation, a tiredness that will not lift and the feeling that nothing excites you any more? Everyone goes through sad patches, but when low mood settles in for weeks and starts to affect your sleep, your appetite and the way you see yourself, it may be something more. This depression test helps you assess your symptoms in four minutes, with no sign-up and without sending your answers to any server, so you can decide more clearly whether it is time to ask for help.

What is depression, and how is it different from sadness?

Depression is a mood disorder that goes far beyond feeling sad. Sadness is a normal emotion, proportionate to what causes it, which eases with time, the support of others or a piece of good news. Depression, on the other hand, is a persistent state: low mood or the loss of interest and pleasure (what clinicians call anhedonia) continues nearly every day for at least two weeks, accompanied by changes in sleep, appetite, energy, concentration and the way you see yourself.

People going through depression rarely describe it simply as sadness: they talk about emptiness, apathy, a tiredness that sleep does not cure, and the fact that things that used to excite them now mean nothing. Sometimes sadness is not even the main symptom, and irritability, physical complaints or a feeling of being stuck take over.

According to the World Health Organization, around 5% of adults live with depression, and it is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. It is more common in women, can appear at any age and is neither a sign of weakness nor something you can "snap out of" through willpower: it is a health problem with biological, psychological and social causes, and with effective treatments.

Symptoms of depression: how to know if you have depression

The DSM-5-TR describes nine symptoms of major depression. For a diagnosis, at least five must be present for two weeks or more, one of them necessarily depressed mood or loss of interest, and they must cause significant distress or difficulties at work, in your studies or in your relationships.

Emotional and motivational symptoms

• Sad, empty or hopeless mood for most of the day.
• Loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities.
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt.
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideas.

Physical symptoms

• Insomnia or, conversely, sleeping far more than usual.
• Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day.
• Changes in appetite or weight without trying.
• Slowing down or agitation that others can notice.

Cognitive symptoms

• Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions.

Alongside these criteria come very common manifestations that help recognise depression in real life: irritability and a short fuse (especially frequent in men and adolescents), progressive social withdrawal, headaches or digestive complaints with no clear medical cause, crying easily or, on the contrary, being unable to cry, and a bleak view of the future. In older adults, depression often hides behind physical complaints and memory lapses that get mistaken for ageing.

Types of depression: major, dysthymia, postnatal and seasonal

Not all depressions are the same. Knowing the most common forms helps you understand what is happening and explain it better in a consultation.

Major depression

The classic picture: one or more episodes of at least two weeks with five or more of the symptoms described. It can be mild, moderate or severe, and occur once in a lifetime or recur.

Dysthymia or persistent depressive disorder

A chronic low mood, less intense than major depression but present on most days for at least two years. People who have it often believe "that is just how I am" and take years to seek help.

Postnatal depression

It appears during pregnancy or in the weeks after giving birth and affects roughly one in ten mothers. It goes beyond the passing tearfulness of the first few days (the baby blues) and includes extreme exhaustion, guilt, intense anxiety and difficulty bonding with the baby.

Seasonal depression

Episodes that recur every year in the months with less daylight, usually in autumn and winter, with sleepiness, increased appetite and spontaneous remission in spring.

Mixed anxiety and depressive disorder

Listed in the ICD-11, it describes people who combine symptoms of anxiety and depression without either clearly dominating. It is one of the most common presentations in primary care.

How does this online depression test work?

This questionnaire consists of 12 statements. The first nine adapt the items of the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), the most widely used depression screening questionnaire in the world and in the public domain, which mirrors one by one the nine diagnostic criteria for major depression. The remaining three are original and cover very common manifestations that the PHQ-9 does not ask about directly: irritability, social withdrawal and hopelessness about the future.

For each statement you indicate how often it has happened to you over the last two weeks, from "not at all" (0 points) to "nearly every day" (3 points). At the end you get a total score from 0 to 36 and a breakdown into three areas: mood and motivation, sleep, energy and appetite and thoughts and concentration. That breakdown shows whether your distress is mainly emotional, physical or cognitive, which is very useful for guiding treatment.

The calculation is done entirely in your browser: we do not ask for your name or email and we do not store your answers. Answer according to how you have been for most of these fourteen days, not just today, and be honest with yourself: the result is only useful if it reflects what you really feel.

How to interpret your depression test score

Scores are grouped into five indicative levels, adapted from the PHQ-9 cut-offs:

• 0-5 · Low: minimal symptoms, similar to the general population.
• 6-11 · Mild: some symptoms present; worth monitoring and looking after your habits.
• 12-18 · Moderate: pattern consistent with a depressive episode; a professional assessment is recommended.
• 19-26 · High: moderately severe symptoms that probably affect your functioning; seek advice as soon as possible.
• 27-36 · Very high: severe symptoms; you need priority professional care.

One item deserves a separate reading: the question about thoughts of hurting yourself or that you would be better off dead. If you marked it with any frequency other than "not at all", your total score matters less than that single answer: it is reason enough to talk to a professional or call a helpline, even if the rest of your answers are low.

Remember that a screening test does not diagnose. A high score indicates that your symptoms resemble depression closely enough to justify an assessment, and a low score reduces that likelihood without ruling it out entirely. Only a mental health professional can confirm the diagnosis after a clinical interview, weigh up the duration and impact of the symptoms and rule out medical causes such as thyroid problems, anaemia or the effects of a medication.

Depression, anxiety, burnout and ADHD: when symptoms overlap

The symptoms of depression rarely appear in pure form, and several conditions share pieces with it.

Depression and anxiety go together extremely often: close to half of people with depression also have an anxiety disorder. The underlying difference is the direction the mind takes: anxiety anticipates future threats and revs the body up; depression looks at the past and present with hopelessness and shuts it down. When they coexist, treatment must address both.

Burnout shares exhaustion, poor concentration and cynicism with depression, but it is tied to work and usually improves clearly when you switch off. If low mood follows you at weekends and on holiday too, and affects areas that have nothing to do with your job, depression is the more likely explanation.

Adult ADHD can be confused with depression because both cause concentration problems, disorganisation and low self-esteem. The key is the timeline: in ADHD, attention difficulties have existed since childhood and are stable, whereas in depression they appear with the episode and improve as it remits. Many people with undiagnosed ADHD develop depression after years of effort and frustration.

Finally, if you have lived through periods of boundless energy, little need for sleep and euphoria, it is important to rule out bipolar disorder, because its treatment is different.

What to do after the test: evidence-based treatment for depression

If your result is moderate or higher, the next step is a professional assessment. You can go directly to a licensed psychologist or start with your GP, who will check your general health, rule out medical causes and refer you to mental health services if needed. Clinical guidelines agree that treatment for depression should be matched to its severity:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): identifies and changes the thoughts and habits that keep mood low. It is the psychotherapy with the most evidence and works both in person and online.
• Behavioural activation: gradually and deliberately rebuilds the activities that bring pleasure and meaning, breaking the cycle of inactivity and apathy. It is simple and, in many cases, as effective as full CBT.
• Interpersonal therapy: works on the conflicts, losses and role changes that often trigger or maintain depression.
• Antidepressant medication: indicated mainly for moderate and severe depression, always prescribed and supervised by a doctor or psychiatrist; it is usually combined with psychotherapy and takes a few weeks to take effect.
• Self-care: regular exercise (with evidence of its own as an add-on treatment), stable sleep hours, natural light, less alcohol and keeping up social contact even when it is hard.

A psychologist specialised in depression, such as the one we recommend at the end of the test, can accompany you from the first assessment through to recovery, in online sessions if you prefer.

The scientific basis of this depression test

The first nine questions in this questionnaire are an adaptation of the PHQ-9 (Kroenke, Spitzer and Williams, 2001), a public-domain instrument validated in dozens of countries and recommended by the main clinical guidelines for screening and monitoring depression; at the usual cut-off of 10 points it identifies major depression with a sensitivity and specificity close to 88%. The three additional items were written from the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria and the description of the depressive episode in the ICD-11, and the cut-off points have been scaled proportionally to the maximum score of 36. As with the rest of the MyPsicoTest tests, the cut-offs were set to maximise sensitivity, that is, to avoid leaving out people who could benefit from an assessment. The content has been reviewed by the MyPsicoTest team and is updated periodically in line with current clinical guidelines.

The 12 questions in this test

Think about how you have felt over the last 2 weeks.

1. I have had little interest or pleasure in doing the things I usually enjoy.
2. I have felt down, depressed or hopeless.
3. I have had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or I have slept too much.
4. I have felt tired or had little energy.
5. I have had a poor appetite or I have been overeating.
6. I have felt bad about myself: that I am a failure, or that I have let myself or my family down.
7. I have had trouble concentrating on things such as reading, watching a series or following a conversation.
8. I have been moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed, or the opposite: I have been so restless that I could not keep still.
9. I have had thoughts that I would be better off dead, or of hurting myself in some way.
10. I have felt irritable, with less patience than usual, or I have snapped over small things.
11. I have avoided seeing friends or family, or turned down plans I used to enjoy.
12. When I think about the future, I feel that nothing will get better no matter what I do.

Answer scale: Not at all · Several days · More than half the days · Nearly every day

If your result worries you or you want a professional assessment, you can talk to Xènia Capel Salcedo, a licensed psychologist (COPC reg. 14982), who offers a free first consultation call and online therapy from anywhere.

Reviewed by the MyPsicoTest team · Updated: 27 October 2026