The Depression Test
That Gives You Hope

This depression test is designed to help you learn what causes depression (where it starts), the symptoms of depression (the results), and how to heal.

You or someone you love is depressed, and that's why you're here. Learn to use your brilliant mind to understand and heal your depression. You will feel hopeful after learning about the signs of depression in this test.

Tell your story or ask your question about depression and get some help. It has been shown in research studies that simply writing about your feelings can help you tremendously!

Directions: No complicated scoring here. You won't be labeled or diagnosed. Just answer "Yes" or "No" to the following questions, then read the information below.

1. Have you lost interest in things you used to enjoy?
2. Does it seem like you're just going through the motions?
3. Is there very little that feels good to you or gets you excited?
4. Do you hate to get out of bed in the morning?
5. Do you find yourself sleeping more and more?
6. Is it hard for you to get yourself to do things you used to like?
7. Does life often look hopeless to you?
8. Are your thoughts negative and pessimistic most of the time?
9. Do you have low self-esteem and/or negative, self-limiting beliefs?
10. Do you have a tendency to be self-critical, self-doubting and generally down on yourself?
11. Does your body feel heavy, like it's hard to move sometimes?
12. Do you feel lethargic, fatigued and exhausted?
13. Does it often seem like there's a cloud over everything?
14. Do you feel numb, or dead inside?
15. Is it difficult or impossible for you to express your anger?
16. Do you find that you never get angry?
17. Do you just not care about anything any more?
18. Have you given up on dreams you once had?
19. Is it difficult for you to maintain your spiritual focus, or your faith in God?
20. Do you sometimes think that life is not worth living?

Other signs of depression include lethargy, low energy, fatigue and exhaustion.

Good News! All of these signs of depression come and go! Very few people feel this way all of the time, because we all have cycles that we go through. So! Remember, when you feel bad, say to yourself, "This too shall pass."

That keeps you from falling into the fear and despair of thinking it will last forever--it won't. Symptoms of depression always come and go, until you really get into your healing process, and then they just go!

And now for the...

If you answered "Yes" to any of the above questions, you are probably experiencing at least mild depression. The more "Yes" answers you gave in response to this depression test, the more severe your depression is.

But our focus here is getting you feeling better, not just telling you how depressed you are, or how many symptoms of depression you are experiencing.

If you really want to "rate" or "score" yourself on this depression test, consider that 1 "Yes" answer would be one of the mild signs of depression, and 20 "Yes" answers would indicate severe signs of depression, and anything in between would be mild to moderate to severe. But again, labels, scores and categories really won't help you.

So! Let's get you some help! But first, let me be clear about a few things:

• I am not a medical doctor. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, with a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education. I have 37 years of experience in helping people deal with causes and symptoms of depression and other related problems. I designed this depression test on the basis of my professional training and experience.
• I do not subscribe to the "chemical imbalance" theory about depression. My research, education and experience has taught me that our brain chemistry changes in response to a wide variety of fluctuating factors, such as diet, age, abuse history, mood, and current environmental stressors. The "chemical imbalance" theory about depression assumes a permanent condition from birth to death, and I am aware of no research that actually proves that such a phenomenon exists.
• I have worked with thousands of clients on anti-depressant medication. These medications treat the symptoms of depression (such as those you saw in the above depression test). Anti-depressants do not get to what actually causes depression.
• I believe that some people are definitely more inclined toward depression than others. To me, that does not say that they cannot heal, or that they will need medication for the rest of their lives. Learn about natural healing remedies for depression at Natural-Healing-For-All.com.
• In my work as a counselor and on this site, I help people heal what causes depression.

Preview the Audio CD program below, where you will hear me talking about this important topic. Learn how to heal your anger and be your own best anger management resource.

From my experience as a professional, this is what I think causes depression:

• Unexpressed sorrow, fear and anger. When these strong emotions are allowed to build up over time without expression or release, depression is bound to occur. From this perspective, depression can be seen as "impacted" negative emotion. Good news! On this site, you will learn about healing anger and depression and many other different forms of healthy ways to express these emotions.
• Unresolved abuse, abandonment and neglect issues. These traumatic memories, when unaddressed, become like "black holes" that drain your energy, and can certainly lead to many of the symptoms of depression we covered in the depression test. You can get some help with this now, with counseling, or by reading this powerful book You might also want to tell your story on this site. Learn more about this on this page.



• Continued disappointment. When dreams are unfulfilled, plans fail, and hopes are thwarted, many people go into despair and become depressed. This is a kind of "giving up" on yourself. I encourage you to never, ever, ever give up on yourself! One of the best things you can do for yourself here is to heal emotionally through inner child work.
• Ongoing marriage conflict or difficulty. Your marriage is one of the most powerful emotional influences on your life, and when you have tried everything and nothing gets better, it is all too easy to get depressed. Learn about dealing with anger and disappointment in marriage and how to create sacred roles in marriage.
• Serious health problems. One of the most common things that causes depression is prolonged illness or injuries with long recovery periods. The thing to be aware of here if that depression can make the illness worse, because depression depletes immune function and slows down the healing process. Sometimes, healthy anger can be the key to breaking out of this cycle. Learn more about healthy anger and your health here.

Other patterns that can cause you to show the signs of depression we have discussed on our depression test are:

• Negative, self-limiting beliefs. This is one of the signs of depression, but it can also be part of what causes depression. If this applies to you, start today to become more positive in your thoughts!
• Watching too much depressing news. If you find yourself stuck in this, then subscribe to Dr. DeFoore's Goodfinding newsletter, and start learning about all of the good things happening in the world right now!
• Not getting any exercise. Did you know that physical exercise is one of the best treatments for depression there is? It's true, but nobody can make a lot of money off of that fact, so it's just not advertised. But now you know it, so get moving!
• Spending too much time indoors. We need time outdoors, no matter what the weather.

I hope you got some help from this depression test. Remember the saying, "Everyone needs someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to"? This is so true. Make sure you have all three of those in place, and that will do wonders for healing and preventing depression.

Do you have diabetes, or do you think you might have it? Depression is often one of the symptoms of diabetes--find out about diabetes and depression here.

Return to anger test, assessment, counseling or anger quotes.

Have A Story Or Question About Depression?

Do you have a story or question about this? Share it here!

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...