Following is a checklist to help you evaluate and chart your major depressive symptoms in a form that will help you communicate your condition to your doctor and therapist. Check the boxes that reflect how you have been feeling.

Short Depression Checklist

Check each statement that represents the way you have felt over the last week. Score the questions on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0=not present and 5=very severe.

The things I used to enjoy now seem unattractive.

I cannot think of any activities I would like to be doing.

Even good news cannot stop me from feeling depressed.

Food does not seem appealing, and my weight is changing.

It takes me a long time to fall asleep after I go to bed.

I wake up earlier than I want or need to.

I have frequent headaches, stomachaches, or other pains.

I feel tired all the time.

I constantly worry that I have a serious disease, although there is no proof that I do.

My thoughts and actions seem to be in slow motion.

I cannot keep negative thoughts from entering my mind.

I have thoughts that keep repeating over and over.

I have difficulty making decisions that affect my life.

I am struggling in work or school.

My interest in sex is reduced or gone.

I believe I am an undesirable person.

I feel hopeless about my future.

I think a lot about death.

I have been thinking about killing myself.

I have made a plan to kill myself.

I have set a date to kill myself.

• What should I do if I am feeling suicidal?
• It seems like the way I think is different now that I am depressed. Could this be true?
• Was my depression caused by recent disappointments and failures?
• Is indecisiveness a symptom of depression?
• Why do my thoughts and movements feel like they’ve slowed down?
• Is major depression a medical disease or just a bad attitude?
• What physical symptoms are typical with serious depression?
• Can I take antidepressants to give myself more energy?
• Why do I never seem to get any restful sleep?
• Why do I always binge on junk food and put on weight when I get depressed?
• I can’t seem to eat what’s wrong with my appetite?
• What kind of emotional changes can I expect if my depression grows worse?
• What do people look like when they are depressed?
• Is there any good news about this diagnosis?
• How does depression affect people’s longevity?
• Is there really a Band Aid that takes away depression?
• Will I have to keep taking medications or going to psychotherapy for the rest of my life?
• What’s a simple definition of major depression?
• What else can I do?
• What exactly is stress?