Reviewed by Dr Jessica Gunawan and Physician Lim Sock Ling

Quick Anxiety Test: What Kind Are You Experiencing?

Published November 2, 2021| 5 min read

Take this short anxiety test to help you identify what type of anxiety disorder you're having. Learn more how to manage the condition effectively.

A woman sitting on a staircase while looking at her phone

Gaining an understanding of the different anxiety disorders and identifying your triggers will let you and your doctor figure out an effective treatment plan. One way is to take an anxiety test to identify your triggers.

Phobias? Panic Attacks? How Do You Express Your Anxiety?

If you’re unsure about the type of anxiety disorder you’re experiencing, take this three-minute quick anxiety test below.

A woman wearing pink blouse feeling nervous while clasping her hands — Anxiety can happen to anyone. The first step to do is understand your mental state.

Are You Ready to Better Understand Your Anxiety Test Results?

“In Traditional Chinese Medicine anxiety conditions could be classified under a diagnosis of depression, insomnia or heart palpitations,” explains physician Lim Sock Ling, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner. So, let’s discover what your answers mean to get the appropriate treatment.

If your answers are mostly A’s

Man silhouetted against a bright sunny sky breaking free of chains around his wrists — Break the chains of anxiety and reclaim your peace of mind and body.

You may be dealing with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It is characterized by being overtaken by several concerns at once, lasting at least six months. These concerns are often a product of exaggerated thoughts and may include worrying about money, health, family members, or work.

If you have GAD, you may be convinced that your anxious concern about a particular subject is the only thing that’s preventing an adverse outcome. So, feel overwhelmed with all the possible ways to handle the situation. Ultimately, you will feel like you can’t decide on a solution. This is likely to fuel more anxiety and you end up with physical symptoms that include trouble sleeping, fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, and irritability.

TCM & General Anxiety: According to physician Lim, the holistic concept of TCM says that worry can affect the spleen and the digestive system, while prolonged anger or irritability can disrupt liver function. In the same way, the heart houses a person’s ‘spirit’. Therefore, people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder are likely to experience heart deficiencies as well.

You may undergo acupuncture treatment or consume herbs like Albizia Bark (He Huan Pi), Rhizoma Cyperi (Xiang Fu), and rosebuds to resolve qi stagnation.

Precautions: Pregnant women should refrain from consuming these herbs.

You may also calm and soothe your nerves by consuming some seedless, non-sulfur-treated red dates. You can prepare these dates as a medicinal soup. They provide several additional health benefits, including replenishing a person’s blood and qi, strengthening the physique, and invigorating the spleen.

If your answers are mostly B’s

Panic attack in public place. Woman having panic disorder on a crowded city street--passersby are blurry. — A panic attack can happen unexpectedly in the outside environment or when you feel overwhelmed with fear.

You are experiencing a type of anxiety known as Panic Disorder. A panic disorder may cause you to experience spontaneous panic attacks – a sudden wave of fear that immobilizes your entire body, repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, during a panic attack, you may experience:

Heart palpitations, a pounding heartbeat, or an accelerated heartrate
Sweating, trembling or shaking
Shortness of breath, or a feeling of smothering or choking
Feelings of impending doom and of being out of control

Ayurvedic remedies: To alleviate the symptoms of a panic attack, you may use Ayurvedic health that contains ashwagandha and saffron (saffron has applications in TCM as well). It can help your body adapt to stress, restore balance and stimulate a positive mood. If you have experienced a panic attack, take time to do breathing exercises every day, so that you know how to relieve an attack when it’s happening.

If your answers are mostly C’s

A woman covering her face with her blue sweater — A phobia can make you withdraw from the world, feeling peril wherever you turn.

The type of anxiety you are experiencing is related to a specific phobia. A phobia is an intense fear of a particular object or situation. It can cause you to worry excessively and to try as much as possible to avoid encountering the object or situation that evokes the aversion or fear.

There are several phobia-related disorders, including object or situation-specific phobias, such as fear of flying or of heights, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, or agoraphobia (extreme fear of entering open or crowded places). In rare cases, children below the age of five may also experience selective mutism. This phobia-related disorder renders them unable to speak in a social setting, even if they have a perfect grasp of their language.

TCM & Phobias: You can prepare dried hawthorn berry slices as herbal tea and consume it hot, lukewarm, or iced. It is one of the best ways to relieve anxiety and boost sleep quality, as it plays a vital role in improving your circulation and stabilizing your blood pressure.

Precautions: Pregnant women should abstain from consuming this herb, and those with gastric conditions or who are consuming medications for heart problems should seek the advice of their doctor before taking this herb.

Overcoming anxiety is no easy feat. It requires mental fortitude and consistent practice of healthy lifestyle habits. This means a complete understanding of your anxiety disorder is crucial. It can help you develop a unique step-by-step guide to relieving your symptoms. Share this anxiety test with someone who may suffer from this disorder as well.