Two minutes. Completely private.
Three short screening tools used routinely in primary care. They can’t diagnose you. What they can do is turn a vague sense that something is off into a specific reason to make an appointment.
🔒 Nothing you answer is saved or sent anywhere. It stays in this browser tab and disappears when you close it.
Answer for the last two weeks — honestly, quickly, without arguing yourself down. Most men score themselves lower than an observer would, because they compare against their worst period rather than a normal one. If you catch yourself thinking “well, not every day,” answer for what actually happened.
A screening tool is a smoke detector, not a fire investigator. It tells you whether to look further — not what is burning.
Part 1 — Mood (PHQ-2)
Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following?
Part 2 — Anxiety (GAD-2)
Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following?
Part 3 — Alcohol (AUDIT-C)
A three-question screen used widely in primary care and by the VA.
Part 4 — The questions the forms don’t ask
Not scored. Just worth answering honestly, to yourself.
- Has someone who loves you told you that you’ve changed — and did you dismiss it?
- Are you drinking or using more than you were a year ago?
- When did you last do something purely because you enjoy it?
- Are you sleeping? Properly, most nights, without chemical assistance?
- When did you last have a real conversation with a friend — not logistics, not banter?
- Are you angry more often than you used to be, at things that don’t deserve it?
- Is there something you have never told anyone?
- If a friend described your exact situation to you, would you tell him to get some help?
That last question is the most reliable instrument on this page. Men apply a standard to themselves they’d find absurd applied to anyone they care about. If your honest answer is that you’d tell him to talk to someone, you’ve already made the assessment. You’re just declining to apply it to yourself.
Book an appointment with a family doctor. Not a specialist, not a therapist yet — a GP. Say this:
“I’ve been feeling off for a couple of months. I did a PHQ-2 and scored X. I’d like to talk about it and rule out anything physical.”
That sentence takes eleven seconds, requires no emotional disclosure, and is a completely normal thing for a doctor to hear. A GP can screen properly, run bloods to check for physical causes, discuss options and refer you on. It’s the widest door in the building.
The PHQ-2 and GAD-2 are short forms of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 (Kroenke, Spitzer & Williams). AUDIT-C: Bush et al. If your score is high or something here frightened you, don’t sit with it alone — call or text 988 any time. You don’t need to be in crisis to use it.