Anxiety

M A R C I A W E S L E Y, Psy. D.

ANXIETY
AND STRESS

A N X I E TY & S T R E S S

Stress:

Stress is a serious problem in today's fast paced world. Although your body and mind are designed to handle stress, stress without relief or re-creation has the potential to negatively impact your health, your sense of well-being, your job performance, and your relationships with your family and friends. Sometimes chronic stress also leads to depression, anxiety disorders and other serious psychological conditions. Therapy can often help you deal with the chronic stress in your life. By coming to terms with your life, and examining it consciously, you can change what is possible to change in your life and find unique ways of coping with the sources of stress that cannot be changed. I can help you find what has meaning for you in your life and discover ways that creatively work for you to cope successfully with your unique responsibilities.

Anxiety:

Anxiety disorders are the most common of the emotional disorders. Approximately 1 in 9 people suffer from an anxiety disorder. In fact, a recent Gallup Poll study found that 25% of people who work in the U.S. suffer from excessive anxiety or stress-related illnesses. One of the reasons so many people suffer with these kinds of disorders is that they blame themselves for not being able to cope rather than recognizing anxiety as a response to a stressful situation. Rather than seeking help it is easy to suffer in silence and keep difficulties to yourself. Psychotherapy is an avenue of helping yourself out of your current suffering. You can talk openly and find unique options and possible solutions to your anxieties. Anxiety disorders express themselves differently.

Below are a series of questions designed give you a general sense of whether you suffer unduly from stress or anxiety. Please keep in mind that the questions provide only a screening tool for increasing your awareness about the symptoms of anxiety. It is not a diagnosis or a definitive test for anxiety. It also does not differentiate the various types of anxiety difficulties.

Question	Yes	No
Do you often experience anxiety and worry which occurs most days and includes a number of different events and activities?
Do you find it difficult to control your worrying?
Do you feel restless or on edge?
Are you easily fatigued?
Do you have difficulty concentrating or does your mind go blank?
Are you experiencing difficulties sleeping (falling asleep, or staying asleep or having restless sleep)?
Are you irritable?
Does your anxiety and worry interfere with your social and/or occupational life?
Have you experienced or witnessed a traumatic event that involved threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to yourself or some one close to you?
Do you experience distress when exposed to reminders of the traumatic event?
Do you make an effort to avoid activities, places or people that cause you to remember the trauma?
Do you experience trembling, twitching or feeling shaky?
Do you have physical symptoms such as palpitations or accelerated heart rate, shortness of breath or smothering sensations, sweating, nausea, or other abdominal distress, frequent urination, or trouble swallowing?
Do you experience recurrent and persistent thoughts?
Do you experience repetitive behaviors that you feel driven to perform?
Do you experience repetitive behaviors that you feel driven to perform?
Do you experience panic attacks?

If you have answered yes to more than 2 or 3 of these questions, you may want to consult with a psychologist for further assessment. There are many helpful options for coping with anxiety such as psychotherapy, medications, relaxation exercises, and mindfulness. You are not alone and there is help.

(These questions were derived from the diagnostic criteria from the DSM-VI.)

Phone: 425.882.0127

WA Psy. LIc. No. 2995
CA Lic. No. 15095