QUIZ TIME!

Before you begin here, let us tell you that we are not
medical professionals. This information has come from
reliable sources and isn’t meant to be a complete diagnostic
tool in any way. These quizzes are simply guidelines to help
you recognize any problems you might have and be able to
effectively deal with those problems.
Because depression can be the most serious of our
topics, let’s start by seeing if you may be depressed. Keep
in mind that everyone has their “blue” days. The thing that
separates clinical depression from simple melancholy is that
the symptoms occur over a period of time. They don’t come
and go, they stay around for awhile and can affect your life
adversely.
Ask yourself the following questions. Answer yes if
you’ve been feeling this way consistently over a period of
two weeks.
1. Do you find yourself constantly sad?
2. Are you un-motivated to do simple things like shower,
clean up the house, or make dinner?
3. Do people tell you you’re overly irritable?
4. Do you have trouble concentrating?
5. Are you feeling isolated from family and friends even
when they are around you?
6. Have you lost interest in your favorite activities?
7. Do you feel hopeless, worthless, or guilty for no reason
at all?
8. Are you always tired and have trouble sleeping?
9. Has your weight fluctuated significantly?
If you can answer “Yes” to five or more of these
questions, you could be suffering from clinical depression. It
is important for you to seek out the help of a medical
professional whether that be a doctor or a therapist. There
are many medications out there that can help with
depression.
I always tried to deny my own depression, but once I
began taking an anti-depressant, I couldn’t believe what a
difference that one pill a day made! It gave me freedom
from the “black hole” I had fallen into and helped me enjoy
life again, so if you think you are depressed, ACT NOW! You
deserve to be happy!
But this book is about stress and anxiety, so let’s see if
you are overly stressed out. Ask yourself the following:
1. Do you worry constantly and cycle with negative selftalk?
2. Do you have difficulty concentrating?
3. Do you get mad and react easily?
4. Do you have recurring neck or headaches?
5. Do you grind your teeth?
6. Do you frequently feel overwhelmed, anxious or
depressed?
7. Do you feed your stress with unhealthy habits-eating or
drinking excessively, smoking, arguing, or avoiding
yourself and life in other ways?
8. Do small pleasures fail to satisfy you?
9. Do you experience flashes of anger over a minor
problem?
If you can answer “Yes” to most of these questions,
then you do have excessive stress in your life. The good
news is that you’ve bought this book and will learn many
valuable techniques to cope with that stress. But we’ll get
to that later!
Let’s move on to anxiety.
1. Do you experience shortness of breath, heart
palpitation or shaking while at rest?
2. Do you have a fear of losing control or going crazy?
3. Do you avoid social situations because of fear?
4. Do you have fears of specific objects?
5. Do you fear that you will be in a place or situation from
which you cannot escape?
6. Do you feel afraid of leaving your home?
7. Do you have recurrent thoughts or images that refuse
to go away?
8. Do you feel compelled to perform certain activities
repeatedly?
9. Do you persistently relive an upsetting event from the
past?
Answering “Yes” to more than four of these questions
can indicate an anxiety disorder.
Suffering from depression, too much stress, or
excessive anxiety can endanger your overall health and it’s
time to take steps to overcome this – RIGHT NOW!
Stress and anxiety affects many factors in our body not
only in our mental state. Cancer and other deadly diseases
are related to stress and anxiety because of the changes in
the chemical composition in our body due to stress and
anxiety.
You don’t have to be a victim of stress and anxiety, its
just all about discipline and having a proper schedule. Not
taking in anything you cannot handle will be a lot of help.
Learn your limitations and stick to it. Do not over exert
yourself. Just try to go over the border an inch at a time.
You can lead a productive successful and fulfilling life
and career without the need to endanger your health. If not,
you are not only killing yourself, you are also sending your
family and friends and all the people around you away.
Stress is a natural part of life. It can be both physical
and mental and much of it can come from everyday
pressures. Everyone handles stress differently, some better
than others.
Left unchecked, however, stress can cause physical,
emotional, and behavioral disorders which can affect your
health, vitality, and peace-of-mind, as well as personal and
professional relationships.
As we’ve said, stress and anxiety can lead to panic
attacks. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that
having a panic attack can be a serious situation. Let’s
explore that subject a little more.