NATALIJA HAYTERPSYCHOTHERAPY & COUNSELLINGIf you have found yourself searching "am I depressed?", that question alone is worth taking seriously. People rarely ask it idly. Something has felt off for long enough that you have started to wonder whether it has a name.
A self-test cannot diagnose you — only a professional can do that — but it can do something useful: it can turn a vague, heavy feeling into something specific enough to act on.
What depression actually looks like
Depression is often quieter than people expect. It is not always tears and despair. More often it is a flattening: things that used to bring pleasure stop landing, energy drains away, sleep and appetite shift, concentration frays, and a harsh inner voice starts narrating everything you do. Many people carry on working and functioning while feeling like this, which is part of why it goes unrecognised for so long.
What a self-test measures
The most widely used screening tool is the PHQ-9 — nine short questions about the past two weeks, the same questionnaire GPs use. It asks about mood, interest, sleep, energy, appetite, concentration and related areas, and produces a score that places your symptoms on a scale from minimal to severe.
You can take it free and privately here — your answers never leave your device: the depression self-test.
What your score does and doesn't mean
A high score is not a verdict and a low score is not a dismissal. The number is a prompt, not a label. A moderate or high score is a good reason to talk to someone — your GP or a therapist. A low score, when you still feel that something is wrong, is also worth trusting; questionnaires miss things, and your own sense of yourself matters more than any tool.
What helps
The reassuring truth is that depression is one of the most treatable difficulties there is. Talking therapy — CBT for the present-day patterns, psychoanalytic work for the roots — has strong evidence behind it, and for many people it is genuinely life-changing. Reaching out is not an admission of failure. It is the first practical step out.
This article is for information and is not a substitute for professional advice or diagnosis. If you are struggling, you don't have to manage alone — in an emergency call 999, NHS 111 (option 2) for urgent mental-health support, or the Samaritans free on 116 123, any time.
Natalija Hayter is a BABCP-registered psychotherapist with over a decade of clinical experience across the NHS, the voluntary sector and private practice, trained at the Tavistock and AGIP. She offers CBT, psychoanalytic and relational therapy in Pimlico, London and online, in English, Latvian and Russian. More about Natalija
Last reviewed: June 2026 by Natalija Hayter, BABCP-registered psychotherapist.