The largest search engine, Google, has launched a tool to bring users to know if they are depressed. People who search for clinical depressions will find a questionnaire in the results, which will indicate whether or not they have this disease.
Google has become aware of how common this clinical disorder is, but many of these people wait between six and eight years before asking for help, according to their calculations. According to the company itself, only 50% eventually do so.
So they have stated that if a questionnaire can make a superficial diagnosis about their mental situation, it will lead them to seek information or ask an expert. This tool is not intended to be a doctor, but a guide so that people do not delay their treatment anymore.
From now on, when users search for “clinical depression ” from Google’s mobile engine, they will be shown a panel with a “check if you’re clinically depressed” tab.
The questions consist of a verified clinical test called “PHQ-9” that also evaluates the degree of depression that the person suffers according to the symptoms. This initiative has been carried out together with the Mental Alliance on Mental Illness (Mental Alliance for Mental Illness).
The option is in principle addressed to residents of the United States, in the absence of a Spanish version. However, a global option in different languages ​​that might also land in Spain could soon be developed.