Searching online about mental health? Google will now help you check to see if you're depressed
Google can tell you pretty much anything you want to know.
The search giant is now using its vast reservoir of knowledge by giving users an easy way to check if they're depressed.
The new tool is a nine-question, clinically validated survey used by doctors and psychologists to gauge a patient's depressive symptoms. While it's also available on the internet, the survey didn't sit atop search results—until Wednesday when Google announced that it's now included in the "Knowledge Panel" that pops up with medical information about depression.
When users search for information about depression on a mobile device, the Knowledge Panel displays an option to "check if you're clinically depressed."
Placing the survey on that prime web real estate puts the screening tool in the hands of countless people who otherwise wouldn't have discovered it.
"The whole idea is to not suffer without knowledge," says Ken Duckworth, medical director of the nonprofit organization National Alliance of Mental Illness. Google partnered with NAMI to make the screening tool widely available to users. The survey will show up in the Knowledge Panel only on mobile devices in the U.S., but the goal is to eventually bring it to desktop computers as well.
Depression is common; one in five Americans experience the condition once in their lifetimes, according to NAMI. It's also a treatable, but Duckworth says some people may have trouble seeking professional mental health care because they lack insurance or worry about the stigma of mental illness.
The tool asks questions about a person's mood, energy level, feelings of hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts, among other symptoms. The answers remain private and the final score is meant to help users learn more about depression and treatment. While the survey is not a diagnostic test, Duckworth says users can take it to a physician or psychologist to jumpstart a conversation about their mental health.
"It's cool that you can take this at home, do it when you want to do it, and you could even do it at the dinner table with your kids," he says. "I don’t know how people will use it, but the beauty of it is it's simply a tool."
If you want to talk to someone about depression, call the NAMI helpline at 1-800-950-6264 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
Topics Google Health Mental Health Social Good
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
