1. What is my mood right now?
Name the closest description without overthinking it: okay, low, flat, irritable, anxious, hopeless, calm or something else. The point is to notice, not to grade yourself.
How are you feeling right now? Start with a simple mood check-in.
Before you decide whether a difficult day means anything bigger, check four things: mood, energy, interest and focus. If several feel noticeably different from your usual baseline, you can continue into the fuller depression self-assessment.
60-second mental check-in
Mood · energy · interest · focus
Private
A useful mood check-in can fit into four questions
2. How much energy do I have?
Ask whether your body and mind feel roughly normal for this time of day or whether even simple actions feel unusually heavy, slow or difficult to begin.
3. Do I still care about things I usually enjoy?
Check whether people, hobbies, plans or goals still create some interest or reward, even if your mood is low. Loss of interest can be different from simply feeling tired.
4. Can I focus and function today?
Notice concentration, decision-making and ordinary tasks. A mood check-in becomes more useful when it connects how you feel with what the day is actually asking from you.
From a quick check-in to a fuller self-assessment
1
Capture the current moment
Start with today or right now. Do not average the last month yet. The check-in is simply a snapshot of your present mood, energy, interest and ability to function.
2
Compare it with your normal baseline
Ask whether today's state is ordinary for you, clearly different, or part of something you have been noticing repeatedly. That comparison tells you whether a deeper look may be worthwhile.
3
Use the fuller test when the change feels broader
If several areas have shifted or the same low state keeps returning, the depression assessment lets you examine a wider set of recent experiences than a one-minute mood check-in can cover.
Mood check-in questions
Should a mood check-in be about today or the last few weeks?
A true check-in starts with now or today. If the same state has been showing up repeatedly, a broader assessment can then help you look across recent days and weeks.
Is a mood check-in the same as a mood tracker?
Not necessarily. A tracker stores repeated entries so you can see trends over time. This page helps you make one current-state check and decide whether a fuller reflection would be useful; it does not create a daily history or trend chart.
What if I feel low today but was fine yesterday?
One low day can happen for many reasons. Treat it as information, not a conclusion. The more useful question is whether the state passes, returns or begins to affect several parts of daily life.
When should I take the fuller depression test?
Consider it when low mood, reduced interest, low energy, concentration problems or difficulty functioning have been showing up repeatedly rather than only in one isolated moment.
What if I feel unsafe right now?
Do not rely on a mood check-in or online test in an immediate safety crisis. If you may harm yourself or cannot stay safe, seek urgent local help now through emergency services, a crisis service or someone who can stay with you.
A check-in answers “how am I now?” A fuller assessment asks “is this becoming a pattern?”
Those are different questions, and both can be useful. A current-state check is fast because it does not try to explain your whole month. It simply makes the present moment visible: mood, energy, interest and functioning.
If today's answer surprises you, compare it with your normal baseline. A single difficult day may resolve with sleep, food, rest, connection or a change in circumstances. A state that keeps returning, lasts longer or spreads into more parts of life deserves a different level of attention.
That is where the fuller depression self-assessment fits. It is not a replacement for a daily tracker and it cannot diagnose the cause of how you feel, but it can help you examine a broader pattern when a quick check-in raises a question worth following.