Depression Questionnaire: 30 Survey Questions

What is a Depression Questionnaire?

A depression questionnaire is a set of depression screening questions asked to gather information that will give you insights into a person mental health and well being.

Good mental health and well being improve the quality of life. In the current fast-paced world, stress is a major factor that is affecting people all across the globe. Major corporations have started using mindfulness and meditation techniques to reduce work stress on their employees. Depression affects people in many ways and can have various symptoms. They can range from mild to severe. Mild depression can mean you are simply feeling low in spirit, while severe depression can have fatal thoughts like being suicidal or feeling that your life has no meaning to it. There has been an increase in such cases in recent years and hence it has become quite important to identify depression at an early stage and tackle the issue appropriately.

For example, a person has been laid-off by a company and it is getting very difficult to find a new job. Because of such an incident, the individual has started feeling hopeless, low self-esteem, and has a lack of sleep. Such bad times can make an individual feel they have been a failure and can cause severe depression. In such a case, a depression questionnaire can help to assess the severity of their condition and thus appropriate actions can be taken to cure depression.

Similarly here’s another example, a student is feeling depressed because of constant bullying, low grades, and peer pressure. In such a situation, a depression survey for students can shed some light on how severe the condition is and what are the facilities provided by the school/college to tackle such cases.

This information can help them get back to academic life and be more productive in the tasks they are required to perform.

30 Depression survey questions for a questionnaire

Here’s how to create a good survey design for a depression questionnaire using appropriate survey questions.

Depression survey questions to evaluate mental health and identify the level of depression.

Please state to your level of agreement, for the following things that have been observed in the last week

1. All the tasks you have performed, are taking much more time than usual.
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
2. You are facing a lack of concentration.
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
3. You are feeling you have no future.
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
4. You are facing problems with making decisions
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
5. You feel, your life is sad, as there is no joy in your life anymore.
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
6. You have lost interest in all things that were important to you once upon a time.
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
7. You have been feeling guilty for everything you do.
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
8. You have been very irritated and angry recently
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
9. You have been feeling very fatigued
   1. Completely agree
   2. Somewhat agree
   3. Neutral
   4. Somewhat disagree
   5. Completely disagree
10. You are feeling that everything you have done has been a failure
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
11. You are having a lack of sleep
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
12. You are having suicidal thoughts
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
13. You have lost or gained weight without any diet programs.
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
14. You are having a loss of appetite.
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
15. You are having trust issues with everyone around you.
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
16. You are having trouble in all your relationships (home as well as professional)
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree

Depression questions to test an individual’s knowledge about depression (Used to test the knowledge of new doctors)

17. A patient has 4 symptoms of depression. What do you think about the severity of his condition?
    1. Not depressed
    2. Mild depression
    3. Moderate depression
    4. Severe depression
18. A patient is feeling irritated, has poor concentration, sleeping difficulties, and feelings of guilt which suggest mild depression. What do you think the doctor should do?
    1. Prescribe an antidepressant
    2. Prescribe venlafaxine
    3. Advise self-help or psychological intervention
    4. Advise psychological intervention along with SSRI.
19. If a person is suffering from moderate depression and is also suffering from a pre-existing heart disease, which SSRI should not be prescribed?
    1. Paroxetine
    2. Fluvoxamine
    3. Venlafaxine
    4. Mirtazapine
20. A patient goes to a doctor for surgery but is also suffering from anxiety as well as depression. Do you think the doctor should treat depression first?
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
    6. Don’t know
21. A patient is suffering from severe depression. What course of treatment should be prescribed to them?
    1. Antidepressants
    2. CBT
    3. A combination of CBT and Antidepressants
    4. Other psychological therapies
22. In your words, please elaborate on the step care model for depression and what it does? (Open-ended question)
23. A patient has harmed themselves, and is having feelings of guilt, worthlessness, is very self-critical and is also suffering from fatigue. To what level do you agree the treatment should be a tricyclic antidepressant.
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
    6. Don’t know
24. Do you think the first episode of moderate depression should be treated with a high dose of SSRI to quickly resolve the issue?
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
    6. Don’t know
25. A patient is diagnosed with a panic disorder. Which of the following treatments should not be prescribed for Panic disorder?
    1. Imipramine
    2. Benzodiazepines
    3. Sedating antihistamines
    4. Clomipramine
    5. Antipsychotics
26. A person has recently started feeling low, crying and is always tired. Over a period of time, there is an insignificant improvement. What level of depression would you diagnose?
    1. Minor
    2. Mild
    3. Moderate
    4. Dysthymia
27. A patient is suffering from chronic severe depression and is referred to a mental health specialist along with a prescription for Venlafaxine. What should be considered when prescribing Venlafaxine? (multiple choice question)
    1. Addiction
    2. Increased likelihood of patient stopping treatment because of side effects
    3. Withdrawal symptoms
    4. Toxicity in overdose
28. Do you think the dose for a patient who has been prescribed with Seroxat can be tapered as his treatment is coming to an end?
    1. Completely agree
    2. Somewhat agree
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat disagree
    5. Completely disagree
    6. Don’t know
29. A person is suffering from severe depression and is also associated with cardiovascular disease? What treatments pose a high risk for such a patient?
    1. SSRI’s
    2. Tricyclic antidepressants
    3. Course of Venlafaxine

30. Do you have any comments/suggestions regarding improvement in depression treatment?

The above questions are used by depression specialists to test the knowledge of new doctors. Such questions are very specific and can be understood by medical professionals only.