PHQ-15 Somatic Symptom Test — Free 15-Question Self-Check

Sometimes headaches, indigestion, dizziness or a tight chest keep coming back even when medical tests find no clear cause. The symptoms may ease after a busy stretch and flare again when stress piles up, or several kinds of discomfort may arrive at once. Mental strain often speaks first through the body, so if a pattern like this has lasted close to a month, it is worth taking stock of the whole picture of your physical symptoms.

The PHQ-15 is a standard screening scale that asks, for 15 bodily symptoms commonly seen in primary care (stomach pain, back pain, joint pain, headache, chest pain, dizziness, a racing heart, shortness of breath, digestive trouble, fatigue, sleep difficulty and others), how much each has bothered you in the past four weeks on a 0-2 scale. It does not identify the cause of symptoms; it summarises how broad and heavy your physical discomfort feels in a single number. That makes it useful when your body seems to be sending signals in many ways that are hard to put into words, or when you want to see how stress and your body are connected.

A score of 0-4 means few bodily symptoms that would interfere with daily life. A score of 5-9 is mild: keep a regular sleep schedule, cut back on caffeine and alcohol, and add habits that release physical tension such as a short walk or relaxed breathing. Recheck in about four weeks to see whether the score comes down, which lets you confirm the link between stress and your symptoms for yourself.

A score of 10-14 indicates moderate somatic symptoms, and discomfort in several areas is probably affecting your daily life. If you have not yet seen a doctor, start by ruling out physical causes with a physician; if tests show nothing specific, or a cause is known but the distress remains heavy, consider adding a mental health consultation. A score of 15-30 suggests widespread and severe physical discomfort, and we recommend a professional evaluation as soon as you can. This check does not replace a medical diagnosis or the work-up of physical illness, so sudden or severe pain, difficulty breathing or fainting should be seen by a doctor right away regardless of the score.

Somatic symptoms often move together with depression and anxiety, so taking the PHQ-9 depression screen, the GAD-7 anxiety check and the PSS stress check alongside this one helps you understand where the body's signals are coming from. If worry about your health feels unusually strong, add the health anxiety check as well. Repeating about once every four weeks lets you read the trend without being swayed by a single day's condition.