Valium

Before taking valium, fill this checklist to sort out your anxiety condition.

1. I feel uncomfortable and experience building tension or discomfort that seems to come out of the blue when I think about a particular situation.

2. I avoid specific situations that make me feel uncomfortable.

3. I have at least four of the following symptoms at the same time: shortness of breath or feeling smothered; heart palpitations (rapid or irregular heartbeat); trembling or shaking; choking; dizziness or unsteadiness; nausea or abdominal distress

4. I worry excessively, and so I feel restless, keyed up or on edge, irritable, easily fatigued, have trouble falling or staying asleep or I wake up tired, have tense and tight muscles, have difficulty concentrating, and/or find my mind going blank.

5. I have recurring intrusive thoughts such as hurting or harming a close relative, being contaminated by dirt or a toxic substance, fearing I forgot to lock my door or turn off an appliance, and/or have unpleasant fantasies of catastrophe.

6. I perform ritualistic actions such as washing my hands or counting to relieve my discomfort because I have fears that keep entering my mind.

7. I have witnessed or been subjected to a life-threatening experience and have persistent symptoms that have lasted for at least a month, including repetitive and distressing thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, attempts to reenact the situation, emotional numbness (out of touch with your emotions-feeling no anger, sadness, guilt, or relief), feeling detached from other people, losing interest in activities that once gave me pleasure, sleep or concentration problems, startling easily, irritability and/or have outbursts of anger

Key to Your Answers:

If you checked #1 (just thinking about a situation brings on dis-comfort), you have anticipatory anxiety.

If you checked #2 (your discomfort arises only in response to being in a specific situation), you have what is called situational anxiety and you are likely dealing with agoraphobia, or fear of going to specific places or being alone. If your discomfort is related to being in social situations and is related to avoiding humiliating or embarrassing yourself, you may be suffering from a social phobia.

If you checked #3 and you include among your symptoms shortness of breath or feeling smothered, you have panic attacks. If your anxiety forces you to avoid certain situations, you have a phobia. If the avoidance is of places, such as driving on freeways, going to doctors, riding in elevators, using public transportation, going over bridges or going through tunnels, eating in restaurants, going to work, and so forth you are likely dealing with agoraphobia.

If you checked #4 you probably have a generalized anxiety dis-order.

If you checked #5 you may have an obsessive-compulsive disorder with obsessions only.

If you checked #6 you are probably dealing with an obsessive-compulsive disorder with both obsessions and compulsions.

If you checked #7 you are probably in post-traumatic stress or nonspecific anxiety condition.