Did I answer correctly...

I toke the sanity quiz and a couple of questions of my own popped up. Comments and suggestions, is of course welcome...

1. It seems basically the same as what shrinks are saying and/or what I am feeling, yet, with these kind of questions (Even when with a shrink), I can't help but obsess over wether I answer them correctly, thruthfully, properly... I don't know why...it's just that I don't know if my responses are proper and if they are maybe exagerated or even under-rated...

2. How does my result compare to the general population? With that, I mean...estimate...how many people have similar issues...is that even possible to guess?

3. Do I recall correctly...is Borderline-Personality order a part of Bipolar Disorder?

4. What is the chances that the symptoms of the Bipolar Disorder is actually the cause of the Bipolar Disorder as apposed to them being actual symptoms of the disorder?

5. What affects, would a HCTD have on one's mental state? It seems rational that Heart-Rate/Blood Pressure/Dural Ectasia/Other CT anomilies could have some sort of role in one's mental state?

--- As a side note...I got really frustrated with my self, for reading this post over and over, before submitting it :P ---

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, psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

(The Sanity Score is based upon a scientific algorithm with scores ranging from 0 - 288.)

Your specific subscores are below (subscales range from 0 - 100). Under the graph of subscores, you will find additional information regarding the meaning of any significant scores or areas that may be of concern.

General Coping 68
Life Events 31
Depression 50
Anxiety 37
Phobias 42
Self-Esteem 67
Eating Disorders 0
Schizophrenia 10
Dissociation 75
Mania 55
Sexual Issues 6
Relationship Issues 6
Alcohol 17
Drugs 0
Physical Issues 50
Smoking Issues 100
Gambling Issues 0
Technology Issues 50
Obsessions/Compulsions 69
Posttraumatic Stress 42
Borderline Traits 67


Your BMI: 17.9
Your body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women. BMI correlates with body fat. The relation between fatness and BMI differs with age and gender. For example, women are more likely to have a higher percent of body fat than men for the same BMI. On average, older people may have more body fat than younger adults with the same BMI. Your BMI: You may be:
Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 Normal
25.0 - 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and Above Obese

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 often experiencing some depressive symptoms. While these are often common amongst the general population, they can also border on the possibility of a depressive episode. It is unclear as to whether you suffer these problems severely enough to need to seek further diagnosis and treatment of them. You should not take your responses to this self-report questionnaire as a diagnosis or recommendation for treatment of any sort. Consult with a trained mental health professional if you are experiencing depressive feelings and/or difficulties in your daily functioning that you are worried about.

Take Action for Depression:

Learn About Depression
Take a Depression Quiz
Read About Treatment Options
Join our Support Group
Find a Therapist
Anxiety: People with scores similar to yours are typically experiencing some degree of anxiety, which may or may not be a concern serious enough to seek out professional help. Remember that a little anxiety in normal, everyday life is to be expected and is a good thing. Nobody should be without any anxiety whatsoever, as anxiety is our body's way of telling us that we should pay closer attention to a situation, event or person in our lives (even if that person is ourselves). Scores in this range suggests a person may be experiencing elevated levels of anxiety that may be causing some distress in an individual.

The most common anxiety disorders diagnosed are either panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.

Take Action for Anxiety:

Learn About Anxiety Concerns
Take an Anxiety Quiz
Join our Support Group
Find a Therapist
Phobias: People with scores similar to yours express some irrational fears of certain specific object or situations, such as being afraid of heights, snakes, or enclosed spaces. Generally, however, most people with this level of fear simply avoid the specific objects or situations in their lives and are not bothered enough by the fears to have it interrupt their everyday lives.

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.

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. You can learn more about dissociative disorders here.

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:

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

Smoking: People with scores similar to yours often are addicted to smoking. They have tried quitting on previous occasions without success. Smoking remains a serious ongoing health risk and issue in their lives. If you want to quit smoking, it is suggested you attempt to do so with a two-pronged approach:

A stop smoking self-help workbook or support group (or online support group)
A nicotine gum or patch to help curb the cravings
Either one alone decreases your chances of being successful in curbing your smoking. While some people can quit cold-turkey, most people find using both of the above strategies the most effective in helping them quit and stay away from smoking long-term.

Technology Issues: People with scores similar to yours sometimes complain about having difficulty controlling their time or use of the Internet and other technologies. They may check email obsessively, or IM friends all the time. Generally, most people do not consider this a problem or issue unless it is seriously affecting your relationships with your friends, your family members, or your significant other.

Obsessions & Compulsions: People with scores similar to yours often have an obsessive-compulsive disorder. You can view symptoms and treatment options for this 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.

Take Action for Obsessions/Compulsions:

Learn About Obsessions and Compulsions
Take an OCD Quiz
Treatments for OCD
Find a Therapist
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): People with scores similar to yours sometimes have a trait or two associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disorder characterized by reliving a suffered trauma through flashbacks, nightmares or other recollections of the event. People who experience only mild PTSD symptoms often do not seek out further professional treatment or assistance for the occasional flashback or nightmare.

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

Recommendations
You have 7 serious concern(s) 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 7 milder concern(s) 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.

There are no "correct" answers to any of the questions, and since it's a self-administered/graded tool, there's no guarantee that you won't consciously or unconsciously try to answer a certain way you think would be "better" or more correct or whatever you want it to be. I sometimes take it and "interpret" some questions one way rather than another to see how my scores will differ. That's fine! It's for your use, to let you know more about yourself and how you see yourself as approaching the world. So, no one else can tell you about how you answered except yourself.

Does it "feel" true what it says? Do you see yourself as having the issues that are mentioned? Sometimes it might give us information we aren't aware of and other times confirm that we're where we thought we were, dealing with a lot of stress or old issues or spending too much time online, etc. Taking it every few months might show us if we feel we're getting better or worse, etc.

It's only about you so you can't compare to other people and "how many"; it's not that sort of tool. There's too many factors and this is just about you and what you feel and no one else is you :-) so there won't be other people with your scores.

Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder are two very different illnesses. Have you seen a therapist and/or psychiatrist? Like it says, if these issues bother you, interfere with your life, you might want to get some help with them.

Hi Perna, thanks for the response...I hear what you are saying... and it makes sense...

I guess the main reason why I ask this, is that the problems I am having, mentally, causes me to clash with other people as my brain doesnt seem to work the same as theirs... It is mainly the clashing that makes me upset... Seeing as it is unlikely that the majority of people is "wrong" and I am right, I tend to think that I am somehow, somewhere at the end of a spectrum dictated by some form of "Standard Deviation" or rule that if you think this or that way, you don't fit in the box and are not "Normal"... But just what is normal... How can I adjust my self to what other people expect me to be like, if I don't even know what I am supposed to be like.

I am currently seeing a shrink and a psych...one for the meds and one for counceling but things just seem to run around in circles. I feel too overwhelmed during my normal life to try and focus on changeing the way I think... and I always seem to get my self into trouble... The harder I try to do my best, the worste it gets cus at times, I just don't know what people want from me and at atoher times, what people want from me is just too, how do I explain this... "Painfull"? "Wrong"? "Against my better judgement"?. I just want to live and be who I am and do what I am good at...but since there seems like there is no way out and that it is but a pipe dream, my thaughts usually turn to suicide as it's the only "viable" escape.

Sure, I have brief moments of happiness every now and again, but that is just totally different from contentment... I am never content and feel like I am just sitting around, enduring the pain, struggles and heartache waiting angtiously for the day I die...