[winter1987]

Your Sanity Score

140

Based upon your answers, you appear to be experiencing some distress at the moment -- your overall mental health is affected by this distress. People with similar scores tend to experience more difficulty in coping with life, and may feel like they need more help than they're currently getting. Because of this, your mental health could likely use a little boost. If you have been feeling this way for longer than 2 weeks' time, people similar to you have sought out professional care from a mental health professional, such as a psychologist, ore is based upon a scientific algorithm with scores ranging from 0 - 288.)

General Coping: People with similar scores as yours tend to feel overwhelmed by life or specific things in life right now. You appear to express a great degree of unhappiness with life right now, which strongly suggests a change would be helpful, such as seeking out professional help or talking to a doctor about your concerns.

Life Events: You're experiencing events in your life that may be negatively affecting your overall mental health and your ability to cope with other things in your life. This may also affect your mood.

Depression: People with scores similar to yours are typically suffering from a moderate to severe depressive episode. This is also known as clinical depression or just plain depression. People who have answered similarly to you typically qualify for a diagnosis of major depression and have sought professional treatment for this disorder.

You should not take this as a diagnosis of any sort, or a recommendation for treatment. However, if would be advisable and likely beneficial for you to seek further diagnosis from a trained mental health professional soon to rule out a possible depressive disorder.

Anxiety: People with scores similar to yours may be suffering from moderate to high anxiety, symptoms that might typically qualify a person for the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. Sometimes people who feel such anxiety symptoms don't realize that their body may be trying to tell them something. Look for patterns in your behavior, such as when and what circumstances under which you experience the symptoms you've described. For example, if it occurs prior to public speaking and your job requires a lot of presentations you may want to find ways to calm yourself before speaking or let others do some of the presentations.

You should not take this as a diagnosis of any sort, or a recommendation for treatment. However, if would be advisable and likely beneficial for you to seek further diagnosis from a trained mental health professional soon to rule out a possible anxiety disorder.

Phobias: People with scores similar to yours typically are diagnosed with a simple or specific phobia, which is an irrational fear of certain objects or situations, such as being afraid of heights, snakes, or enclosed spaces. Generally most people with this kind of concern simply avoid the object or situation. If it is of serious concern, often people with similar scores will seek out professional help to cure the person of the irrational fear. Such therapy usually only takes a dozen or so sessions, and in some cases much less.

Self-Esteem: People with scores similar to yours express some major concerns with their self-esteem. Self-esteem is most often the product of our upbringing and personalities. It is something that a self-help book or psychotherapist can help a person learn to readily improve in even just a few sessions.

Eating Disorders: People with scores similar to yours often have a trait or two associated with an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia. Eating disorders occur due to poor self-image and self-esteem, often as a result of childhood experiences. People with scores similar to yours often go through life with a somewhat unhealthy attitude and approach to eating, but aren't bothered by it enough to seek professional assistance for it. If it is causing you concern, however, you should consider talking to a therapist who specializes in eating disorders.
Your body mass index suggests you may also be underweight, which could be causing you additional stress.

Schizophrenia: People with scores similar to yours sometimes exhibit a symptom or two that may be consistent with schizophrenia, or a schizophrenia-related disorder. This doesn't mean you have schizophrenia, as some traits and symptoms may be found in people who do not qualify for a schizophrenia diagnosis. But it is something to be aware, especially if you are a teenager or in early adulthood (when schizophrenia is commonly diagnosed).

Dissociation: People with scores similar to yours may have something called dissociation or a dissociative identity disorder. Dissociation is a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. During the period of time when a person is dissociating, certain information is not associated with other information as it normally would be. For example, during a traumatic experience, a person may dissociate the memory of the place and circumstances of the trauma from his ongoing memory, resulting in a temporary mental escape from the fear and pain of the trauma and, in some cases, a memory gap surrounding the experience.
People with this sort of issue often seek out professional treatment for their concern from a therapist with experience in treating dissociation.

Mania & Bipolar Disorder: People with scores similar to yours often complain of symptoms commonly associated with bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depression). Bipolar disorder is characterized by a swing in moods from depression to mania (having racing thoughts, an excess of energy, inability to maintain attention, etc.). Bipolar disorder at this level can seriously interfere with a person's normal, everyday life and impair functioning in social relationships, work, school, and other areas of one's life.
People who report similar levels of bipolar symptoms often benefit from professional treatment for their concern through a combination of psychotherapy and medication.

Physical Issues: People with scores similar to yours often have a physical issue that causes them some concern or effort in their daily lives.

Technology Issues: People with scores similar to yours often complain about having difficulty controlling their time or use of the Internet and other technologies. People with this sort of problem often identify it as being "addicted to the Internet." Some therapists may be able to help you with this issue and reduce your Internet use or use of other technologies so that it interferes less with important relationships in your life, such as those with your friends, family, or significant other.

Obsessions & Compulsions: People with scores similar to yours often have an obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is not a diagnosis, or a recommendation for treatment. However, it would be advisable and likely beneficial for you to seek a professional diagnosis from a trained mental health professional in your community at your earliest convenience.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): People with scores similar to yours often have traits associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disorder characterized by reliving a suffered trauma through flashbacks, nightmares or other recollections of the event. This is a serious concern that often requires professional treatment.

Borderline Traits: People with scores similar to yours often have traits associated with borderline personality disorder.
Recommendations

You have 11 serious concerns that we've identified. Generally such concerns should be checked out with a mental health professional as soon as you can. You can find a mental health professional within your local community through your insurance provider or through an online therapist directory. Get help immediately if these concerns are overwhelming or you feel your health or safety is at risk.
You have 4 milder concerns that we've identified. Such concerns may be a part of an ordinary person's usual up's and down's in life. However, if any of these issues cause you worry or concern, please consult with your physician or a mental health professional for further information.

[Travelinglady]

Hello, Winter1987, and welcome to Psych Central! Thanks for sharing. Any thoughts on the results?