Episode Five - Understanding and Measuring Your Mood.

Please remember, listening to a podcast is never a substitute for urgent care. There is no shame in needing immediate support. Reaching out is an act of courage — not failure.

Today’s episode is a little different. Rather than simply listening to teaching or reflection, I’m going to invite you into something more personal — a guided, gentle self-assessment of your current mood.

Scripture encourages us, in 2 Corinthians 13:5, to “examine ourselves.” Not in a harsh or condemning way — but in an honest, sober, hopeful way. Throughout the Psalms, we see David praying, “Search me, O God… and lead me in the way everlasting.” Self-examination, reflection, when done in the presence of grace, is not morbid introspection — it is the doorway to renewal.

In my book The Renewed Mind, I adapted a well-known tool originally developed in 1984 by Dr. David Burns of Stanford University and based upon ideas first put forward by Dr. Aaron Beck a decade earlier. The Burns Depression Checklist is a simple and clinically respected questionnaire used worldwide to assess depressive symptoms.

Today, I guide people through a version of that checklist in audio form.

The Renewed Mind Depression Check

For each statement, rate how much it has been true for you over the past few days.

Use this scale:

0 – Not at all

1 – Slightly

2 – Moderately

3 – A lot

4 – Extremely 

Try to answer honestly and quickly. Don’t overthink. Your first instinct is usually the most accurate.

Record and carefully add up all 25 scores, your total score will fall somewhere between 0 and 100.