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These visuals keep the headline total separate from the item pattern.
Read the meter for the original raw score first, then use the item map to see where positive well-being is holding up or thinning.
| # | Statement | Response | Score | Read | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{ row.id }} | {{ row.text }} | {{ row.answer }} | {{ row.score }}/5 | {{ row.read }} |
Positive mental well-being is not just the absence of distress. It is the felt presence of good spirits, calm, usable energy, restorative sleep, and interest in ordinary life. The WHO-5 turns those five experiences into one brief score by asking how often each one was present during the last two weeks.
That positive wording is what makes the scale different from a symptom checklist. A low result can show that well-being has thinned out, while a stronger result can show what is still holding up or returning. The official score stays simple: five item values are added into a raw total from 0 to 25, and the same result can also be shown as a percentage from 0 to 100.
WHO's 2024 handout says a percentage score below 50, or a raw score below 13, has been suggested as a cue for poor mental well-being and for further assessment for a possible mental health condition. That is the main threshold this page keeps visible. It is a cue to look more closely, not a diagnosis and not an explanation by itself.
This page adds a more practical reading path around the official WHO-5 score. It separates mood-and-interest items from energy-and-rest items, surfaces the strongest and lowest supports, offers an optional previous-score comparison, and provides a raw-score meter, an item map, and response-table exports. Those additions can help with follow-up, but they do not alter the WHO-5 result.
Scoring happens in the browser rather than through a tool-specific server assessment. That helps keep the questionnaire local while you use it, but shared links, copied tables, chart downloads, and DOCX exports can still preserve sensitive answers. Treat those outputs like personal health notes.
Each WHO-5 statement uses the same six-step frequency ladder. All of the time scores 5, Most of the time scores 4, More than half of the time scores 3, Less than half of the time scores 2, Some of the time scores 1, and At no time scores 0. Adding the five item values produces the official raw total from 0 to 25.
The percentage display is not a second test. It is the same WHO-5 result shown on a 0 to 100 scale by multiplying the raw total by four. WHO's current handout says that a percentage score below 50, or a raw score below 13, has been suggested as a cut-off for poor mental well-being and as an indication for further assessment for a possible mental health condition, including depressive disorder.
Everything else on this page is interpretation support. The affect subtotal adds items 1, 2, and 5. The vitality subtotal adds items 3 and 4. Those are page-specific reading aids, not official WHO subscales. If you enter a previous raw total, the page calculates the arithmetic difference only. The reflection lens and context settings change the wording of the guidance cards, but not the score, threshold, or chart values.
| Layer | Built from | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Raw total | All five WHO-5 item scores added together | Main score on the original 0 to 25 scale. |
| Percent score | Raw total multiplied by four | Same score shown on a 0 to 100 scale for easier percentage reading. |
| Published cue | Triggered below 13 raw or below 50 percent | Flags that fuller assessment may be worth considering. |
| Affect total | Items 1, 2, and 5, range 0 to 15 | Shows how positive mood, calm, and interest are holding up. |
| Vitality total | Items 3 and 4, range 0 to 10 | Shows how energy and waking refreshed are holding up. |
| Previous-total change | Current raw total minus an optional earlier raw total | Useful for repeat check-ins when both runs cover comparable two-week periods. |
| Item score | Page label | Plain reading |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 5 | Strong lift | This part of recent well-being is one of the stronger supports in the current profile. |
| 3 | Holding | This item is present more often than not, but it is not especially robust. |
| 2 | Thin spot | This area is likely dragging the profile down and deserves closer review. |
| 0 to 1 | Very thin spot | This support is barely present in the current two-week window. |
Start with the recall window. WHO-5 works best when every answer refers to the same last two weeks. If one response reflects yesterday and another reflects the whole fortnight, the score still adds up, but it stops being a clean summary of one period.
After the summary appears, read it in order. First check the raw total or percent score and whether the published cue is present. Next look at the affect and vitality split to see which side of the profile feels thinner. Then scan the strongest and lowest supports so you know which individual items are carrying the result. Only after that should you compare against an earlier score.
Use the previous-total field carefully. It is most informative when the earlier number came from another complete WHO-5 that covered a comparable two-week period. A remembered score from months ago, or a number gathered during a very different life event, can make the change label look more precise than the comparison really is.
The reflection lens and context settings are best treated as framing choices, not scoring choices. Switching between self-reflection, repeat-check tracking, or care-conversation wording, and then adding a context such as sleep and energy strain or work and study load, changes the guidance language only. The WHO-5 score, charts, and threshold remain the same.
Two common mistakes are easy to avoid. One is treating a low WHO-5 result as if it were a diagnosis. The other is treating a score above the published cue as proof that everything is fine. The page works better when you read the item pattern and context beside the total rather than asking one number to do all the work.
The WHO-5 total is a short signal of recent positive well-being. It does not diagnose depression, explain the cause of a low score, or replace conversation about sleep, health, stress, medication, or life events. The most useful habit is to read the total beside the item pattern rather than on its own.
| Pattern | What it usually means | What to check next |
|---|---|---|
| Raw below 13 or percent below 50 | The published cue is present, so recent well-being is low enough to justify closer review. | Look at the lowest items, recent stressors, sleep quality, physical health, and whether fuller assessment would help. |
| Above the cue but one or two very low items | Overall well-being is not broadly low, yet a specific support may be thinning out. | Use the item map and lowest supports list instead of stopping at the total. |
| Vitality lower than affect | Energy, waking refreshed, or recovery is pulling the profile down more than mood and interest. | Review sleep, pacing, illness, physical load, and rest opportunities first. |
| Affect lower than vitality | Calm, positive mood, or daily interest looks thinner than energy and recovery. | Review emotional strain, connection, enjoyment, and whether daily life still feels engaging. |
| Noticeable change from a previous raw total | The direction matters, but only when the two runs used comparable time windows and circumstances. | Compare context before drawing conclusions from the arithmetic change alone. |
One reason the item pattern matters is that the same raw total can come from very different lives. A score can be pulled down mainly by poor sleep and low vigor, or mainly by reduced calm and interest, or by a broad flattening across all five items. The next step is different in each case, even when the total is identical.
Read the published cue the same way. It is best used as a threshold for attention, not as a final verdict. WHO frames it as a signal for further assessment for a possible mental health condition. That makes the result useful for screening and follow-up, but it still leaves room for the wider story behind the answers.
Suppose the five answers are 2, 2, 1, 1, and 2. The raw total is 8 and the percent score is 32. That triggers the published cue. Affect is 6 out of 15, while vitality is only 2 out of 10. The practical reading is not just that well-being is low, but that energy and waking refreshed look especially thin and deserve direct attention in any follow-up.
Another person answers 4, 4, 2, 1, and 4. The raw total is 15 and the percent score is 60, so the published cue is not present. Even so, vitality is only 3 out of 10 while affect is 12 out of 15. That is a good example of why a score above the threshold should not end the conversation. Mood and interest may be holding up while rest and energy are quietly eroding.
An earlier raw total of 17 is entered, and the current answers are 3, 3, 2, 2, and 3. The current raw total is 13, which becomes 52 percent. The page shows a drop of 4 raw points from the earlier score. That is clearly better than before, but it sits only just above the published cue. The right reading is improvement with continuing watchfulness, not a simple all-clear.
No. WHO-5 is a brief well-being measure. A low score is a cue for fuller assessment, not a diagnosis. WHO notes that the below 50 percent or below 13 raw threshold may indicate the need to assess for a possible mental health condition, including depressive disorder.
They are the same result in two formats. The raw total runs from 0 to 25. The percent score is simply the raw total multiplied by four.
No. They are page-specific reading aids built from the five WHO-5 items to help separate mood and interest from energy and restorative sleep. The official WHO-5 score is still the five-item total.
Use it only when the earlier number came from another complete WHO-5 that covered a comparable two-week period. Otherwise the change label can be misleading.
Yes. A result above the cue can still contain one or two low items that deserve attention, especially when sleep, energy, or daily interest has dropped more than the overall total suggests.
The scoring stays in the browser, but copied rows, downloads, DOCX exports, and shared links can still preserve sensitive information. Handle those outputs carefully.