Rate your anxiety level

[Bossy Monkey]

I've been here roughly half of forever, so I'm reasonably sure I'm not the only person on the board with generalized anxiety disorder. Moreover, there is no question that everybody here has experienced worsening anxiety since late 2000 unless your brain has fallen out or you're a freeper disruptor. (Forgive redundancy.) What's your current status? I'm voting 7 for my part.

Since I'm having trouble coming up with examples that even I would consider very helpful, I'll just take the scale up to 9 and leave an Other slot for you to provide your own definitions should you so desire.

[Allenberg]

1. I'm pretty frazzled.

I'm on-edge alot and I'm quick tempered. I'm worried about our country :scared:

[alarcojon]

2. You're not the only person on the board with GAD

16% of Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder - that's one in six!

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec2.html

[Bossy Monkey]

7. In my circle of friends, it's more like 100%

but then, that may be why they're my circle of friends.:)

[Ryano42]

3. BEHIND YOU!!!!

AHHHHH!!!!!!

:scared:

(actually quite mellow)

[Sugar Smack]

4. I voted for option 5.

I've been having "concentration camp" dreams. Vivid, epic ones going on 2 years now. They always start in dormitories, with all of us being told to gather one bag of stuff and we're always herded into a concentration camp.

Thanks for posting this, undisclosedlocation. I have always admired you and your posts are a work of art.

[Bossy Monkey]

5. Thanks very much!

The concentration camp dreams probably just mean you should take a break from DU every now and then (meaning no disrespect either to you or to DU of course).

[Beware the Beast Man]

6. Day to day, it depends on certain factors.

If I get too little sleep or too much caffeine, then some times my mind races, or follows some sort of irrational downer pretzel logic. Fortunately I've been blessed with a decent sense of rationale. I don't have full-blown panic attacks anymore (at least not for a while). Then again, I probably have a relatively mild case, but when it happens, it doesn't feel "mild," does it?

I refuse to give the Bush administration more credit that it deserves- I've dealt with anxiety years before all this. Our current political climate certainly doesn't help, though. And you're right, you certainly aren't alone.