Low Mood (PHQ-9)
The PHQ-9 — nine questions, written by Kroenke, Spitzer and Williams in 2001 and still the most widely used brief depression screen anywhere. Screening, not diagnosis.
For each one, say how often it's bothered you over the last two weeks. Four options, from 'not at all' to 'nearly every day.' There's no score until you've answered all nine.
The small tick is the screening cutoff at 10 — past it is where a clinician would normally start paying attention. The bands are the scale's own severity thresholds.
My Score
I scored a 4. My mood is actually not too bad.
I think before therapy I was more reliably depressed. I carried around a lot of weight I didn't know was bothering me. A lot of baggage from the past that was unresolved.
People with same-sex attraction report depression at consistently higher rates than the general population. It's one of the most replicated findings in the field, and it holds even in countries that have become more accepting.
But the real question is why. Why are the rates higher? Most people think the answer is stigma. And while stigma is real, it doesn't explain everything.
When I'm feeling low — when my confidence is down, when my self-esteem is gone — the attraction gets stronger. Then I feel even lower, and the same-sex attraction gets stronger still.
I think healing comes not from focusing on the attraction itself, but on addressing the sadness that is feeding it.
Where to Go from Here
If any of this was useful, I write about this every week. Free.
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606–613.