Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale
Have you ever felt really sad or unhappy for a long time? Sometimes, people can feel this way without knowing why or how to feel better. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a questionnaire that helps doctors and researchers understand how someone is feeling and if they might be experiencing depression.
The CES-D uses simple questions to ask how often someone has experienced different feelings or behaviors in the past week, such as feeling sad or having trouble sleeping. Each question has four possible answers to choose from, ranging from not at all to most or all of the time. The answers are then scored, and this score can give an idea of how much depression someone might be experiencing.
This test doesn't diagnose depression on its own, but it can be helpful in starting a conversation about how someone is feeling or if they might need extra support or treatment. It's important to remember that feeling sad or down sometimes is normal, but if these feelings don't go away or start to affect everyday life or happiness, it's important to talk to someone who can help.
The CES-D uses simple questions to ask how often someone has experienced different feelings or behaviors in the past week, such as feeling sad or having trouble sleeping. Each question has four possible answers to choose from, ranging from not at all to most or all of the time. The answers are then scored, and this score can give an idea of how much depression someone might be experiencing.
This test doesn't diagnose depression on its own, but it can be helpful in starting a conversation about how someone is feeling or if they might need extra support or treatment. It's important to remember that feeling sad or down sometimes is normal, but if these feelings don't go away or start to affect everyday life or happiness, it's important to talk to someone who can help.