What scale is useful for measuring depression that maxes out the PHQ-9?
May 10, 2019 11:07 PM Subscribe
I would like to track my depression with a quantitative metric, to measure the effects of medicine, situational changes, etc. The PHQ-9 is what I would ordinarily use. However, my depression severity is often higher than it is able to differentiate. What are metrics that work for tracking gradations within extremely severe depression?
If you're looking for a valid psychometric scale, Beck's Depression Inventory [PDF] is often used for this kind of thing. I am most familiar with the PHQ-9 and the MHI-36. The MHI inventory would likely not be as useful to you, because it measures general mental well-being.
On a personal note, I have found tracking my own moods via a mood tracking app (I use eMoods), combined with manual entry of data (e.g., meds taken, exercise time, etc. - I can do this in eMoods too) and other passive data collection methods using wearables &c., to be far more useful and reliable than a psychometric test. YMMV. I collocate much of this personal data from various services using the exist.io app.
posted by sockermom at 8:52 AM on May 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
On a personal note, I have found tracking my own moods via a mood tracking app (I use eMoods), combined with manual entry of data (e.g., meds taken, exercise time, etc. - I can do this in eMoods too) and other passive data collection methods using wearables &c., to be far more useful and reliable than a psychometric test. YMMV. I collocate much of this personal data from various services using the exist.io app.
posted by sockermom at 8:52 AM on May 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
If I were doing this, I would simply rate my depression on a scale of 0-100 and not worry about using a standard psychometric scale. Presumably, you're not going to publish the results anywhere. If this is just for your own personal use, then using Beck's, PHQ-9, HAM-D or whatever seems like overkill.
posted by alex1965 at 7:00 PM on May 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by alex1965 at 7:00 PM on May 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
The standard depression inventories are pretty useless for me too - I've always been in the severe+ zone on the Beck. I don't think any such metric exists besides maybe (and I have used this at times) the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and similar. I made my own list of (very specific) symptoms on patientslikeme and rate it there daily; it gives me more fine-grained data.
posted by ahundredjarsofsky at 2:36 AM on May 13, 2019
posted by ahundredjarsofsky at 2:36 AM on May 13, 2019
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Aside from that, I am just getting a FitBit now, and part of the reason I'm doing it is to try to track how my psych medications are impacting my sleep and activity in a way that is more than just "I think I feel better/worse today." If that kind of thing is financially feasible, it might be another good source of metrics that will make smaller changes more obvious.
posted by Sequence at 7:30 AM on May 11, 2019 [1 favorite]