Google Inc.and the National Alliance on Mental Illness want to help with the American epidemic of depression by rolling out a feature that will allow people to screen themselves online more easily.

A Google mobile search result for a depression-related question will now bring up a pop-up box asking you if you’re depressed. If you hit yes, you’ll be offered the opportunity to fill in a clinically validated screening questionnaire called a PHQ-9.

According to NAMI, one in five Americans will suffer from depression at some point in their lives, although only about half of people will seek help. By teaming up with Google, the organization hopes it can help more people ascertain if they’re depressed and, if they are, understand the level of their depression.

“Statistics show that those who have symptom of depression experience an average of a 6-8 year delay in getting treatment after the onset of symptoms,” NAMI Chief Executive Mary Giliberti wrote in a blog post. “We believe that awareness of depression can help empower and educate you, enabling access to quicker treatment.”

Google has reported in the past that about 5 percent of all searches are health-related, and to reduce the number of online misdiagnoses and attendant fears, the company has introduced features that should help people find relevant information and possible courses of action.

The questions you will be asked in the questionnaire can be found on any number of depression websites: “Are you fatigued?” “Do you have trouble concentrating?” “Do you have a poor appetite?” It seems the main objective of the feature is to make such questions more accessible.

One of the questions not on the test is, “Do you spend too much time Googling?” This is an irony pointed out by Newsweek, which cited new studies stating that too much time online leads to depression and anxiety.

Image: Alan Levine via Flickr