Two tools you can use today

The first helps you see where you are. The second helps you do something about it. Neither replaces a professional. Both are free and used right here.

This is not a diagnosis. What follows is information and practical tools. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or are in crisis right now, there are 24/7 helplines below.
Clinical tool 1 of 2

PHQ-2 mini-screening

Two quick questions used in primary care to detect low mood in the last two weeks.

1. In the last two weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?
2. In the last two weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?

This is NOT a diagnosis. It is a first signal — like a thermometer that warns of fever without saying what is causing it. If both answers are "more than half the days", it is worth talking to a professional.

Practical tool 2 of 2

One thing today — 5 minutes

Behavioral activation is one of the best-supported techniques for depression. It is not magic. It is doing one small thing with intention.

  1. 1

    Pick one activity that used to give you a little pleasure. Just one.

    Examples: 5 minutes of music you used to enjoy, a hot shower, walking to the corner, looking at an old photo, writing three lines in a notebook.

  2. 2

    Schedule it for a specific time today. Not "whenever I can" — at 4:30 PM.

    A concrete time tells your brain it matters. Vague does not get done.

  3. 3

    Mark a piece of paper when you do it. A tick, an X, a circle.

    The record is not to impress anyone. It is so your brain registers it happened.

  4. 4

    If you did not do it, do not punish yourself. Tomorrow pick something smaller.

    Depression feeds on guilt. Cutting that cycle is part of the work.

Evidence: The technique comes from Jacobson, Martell, and Dimidjian (2001) and was supported in Cuijpers, Karyotaki, Harrer, and Stikkelbroek (2023) — it works comparably to full cognitive therapy for moderate depression. DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2023.2197630

If you feel this is not enough, talking to a professional can be the next step.

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