33 questions
About 7 minutes
For adults

These tests are for screening. A result is not a diagnosis: only a psychiatrist or psychologist can make one, after talking with you.

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For each statement, indicate how often it is true for you.

Question 1 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online gets in the way of the time I spend on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 2 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online gets in the way of my online leisure activities (such as watching films).
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 3 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online gets in the way of my other work or studies.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 4 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online gets in the way of my job.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 5 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online gets in the way of my offline social life (for example, I spend less time with family or friends).
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 6 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online gets in the way of the things I do offline.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 7 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online stops me reading news, sport or entertainment articles online.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 8 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online disrupts or slows down my online calls and chats (Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber).
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 9 of 33 After looking up symptoms or complaints online, I can't relax.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 10 of 33 After looking up symptoms or complaints online, my unease grows.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 11 of 33 When I read online that one of my symptoms or complaints occurs in a rare or serious disease, I panic.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 12 of 33 Until I read online about a serious disease, I consider myself healthy.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 13 of 33 Once I have looked up symptoms or complaints online, I feel more worried or uneasy.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 14 of 33 After looking up symptoms or complaints online, I lose my appetite.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 15 of 33 I struggle to get rid of my worries about the symptoms or complaints I have looked up online.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 16 of 33 After looking up symptoms or complaints online, I have trouble sleeping because of what I found.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 17 of 33 If I notice something about my body that I can't explain, I research it online.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 18 of 33 I look up the same symptoms or complaints online many times.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 19 of 33 When looking up symptoms online, I visit websites where people with that illness discuss their condition, symptoms and experiences.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 20 of 33 I read various websites about the same health problem.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 21 of 33 I read one and the same website about my symptoms or complaints many times over.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 22 of 33 When I type my symptoms or complaints into a search engine, I assume the results are ordered by how common each illness is and that those at the top are the most likely diagnosis.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 23 of 33 When looking up symptoms online, I only visit trustworthy websites.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 24 of 33 When looking up symptoms online, I visit both trustworthy websites and sites where patients share information and discuss.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 25 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online makes me go to my family doctor.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 26 of 33 I talk over the medical information I find online with my family doctor or other health professionals.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 27 of 33 I suggest to my family doctor or specialist a diagnostic test I have read about online and think I may need (for example a biopsy, CT, MRI or a special blood test).
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 28 of 33 Looking up symptoms or health complaints online makes me go to specialist doctors in different fields.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 29 of 33 It puts my mind at rest to talk with my family doctor about the information on my health problems that I found online.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 30 of 33 I think: 'If I hadn't looked up my symptom or complaint online, I wouldn't have gone to the doctor.'
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 31 of 33 I take my family doctor's or specialist's view more seriously than my own online research.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 32 of 33 I trust the diagnosis my family doctor or specialist gives more than a diagnosis I make myself from the internet.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Question 33 of 33 When my family doctor or specialist tells me not to worry about what I found online, my worry goes away.
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always

Your result

Total score

out of 165

33–65 Low
66–98 Moderate
99–131 High
132–165 Very high

Compulsion: out of 40
Distress: out of 40
Excessiveness: out of 40
Reassurance seeking: out of 30
Mistrust of doctors: out of 15

For information only: these scores have no cut-off of their own.

Take your result as a rough guide, not a diagnosis. How you feel over time, and a conversation with a specialist, tell much more than a questionnaire.

Talk it through with a specialist

If your result worries you, or you would like to talk it through, our psychiatrists can review it with you, free and without obligation.

Request a free medical review Read about Anxiety and panic disorders

McElroy E, Shevlin M, 2014 (original scale); Turkish validity and reliability: Uzun SU, Zencir M, 2021.

This English version was translated by NPİSTANBUL from the Turkish form of the test; it has not been validated separately in English.

About this test

Cyberchondria means repeatedly searching the internet about symptoms in a way that raises rather than relieves worry. This scale covers five areas in 33 items: compulsion, distress, excessiveness, reassurance seeking and mistrust of doctors; it takes about 7 minutes. The result shows how often these behaviours occur; it is not a diagnosis.

Related condition: Anxiety and panic disorders
What happens next: Psychotherapy

Score ranges of this test

33–65	Low
66–98	Moderate
99–131	High
132–165	Very high

Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) · McElroy E, Shevlin M, 2014 (original scale); Turkish validity and reliability: Uzun SU, Zencir M, 2021.

This English version was translated by NPİSTANBUL from the Turkish form of the test; it has not been validated separately in English.

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Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS)

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Your result

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Moderate

High

Very high

Talk it through with a specialist

About this test

Score ranges of this test

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