You feel vaguely anxious, but the cause of your anxiety seems vague. This anxiety test will give you different perspectives on what exactly is causing your anxiety.
The test was developed by Katri Kanninen, PhD in psychology and educational psychotherapist, and is intended for self-assessment only. It does not replace a professional assessment. If you suffer from anxiety, we strongly recommend that you seek professional help.
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The following questions are designed to help you identify which levels of anxiety are most significant for you at this moment and what kinds of factors are influencing your anxiety.
- Reality level:
- Have you experienced significant life changes, losses, illnesses, or other challenging events in the past year?
- How do these events affect you at the moment?
- Do you feel that you should be doing something about these events?
- Existential anxiety:
- Do you often think about the purpose or meaning of life?
- Do you sometimes feel that your life is empty or meaningless?
- Do you feel lonely or separated from other people?
- Does the thought of death cause you anxiety?
- Do you often reflect on your own freedom and responsibility?
- Inner critic:
- What kinds of things does your inner critic usually say to you?
- In what situations is your inner critic most active?
- How does your inner critic affect your mood and behavior?
- Feelings and emotional responses:
- Which emotions are the most difficult for you to deal with?
- Were there emotions you were not allowed to express in your childhood?
- Which emotions were acceptable or openly expressed in your family?
- Which emotions would you like to be able to express better?
- Early beginnings (relationship with parents):
- What kind of relationship did you have with your parents as a child?
- Did you feel safe and loved?
- Did you feel that you could influence your parents’ feelings and behavior?
- What kind of feelings do these early experiences evoke in you now?
- Repetitions in current relationships:
- Do you find yourself repeating the same patterns in your current relationships that resemble your childhood experiences?
- Are you afraid that your loved ones will reject you?
- Do you feel that you have to work hard to earn love and acceptance?
“Once you have answered the questions, review your responses and reflect on which layers of anxiety feel most significant to you.”
Test interpretation
Once you have answered the questions, review your responses and reflect on which layers of anxiety feel most significant to you. Which factors seem to influence your anxiety the most? This can help you better understand the roots of your anxiety and find suitable ways to manage it.
If you need help managing anxiety, it is advisable to book a session, for example, for short-term therapy, which you can access easily either online or in person without a referral from a doctor.
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What is causing anxiety?
By exploring the emotional experiences, thoughts, and life history roots behind your anxiety, its meaning becomes easier to understand.
The background may include, for example, the following levels:
Feelings of inadequacy and compensating through overachievement
Feelings of inadequacy can also lie at the root of anxiety, which people may try to compensate for through achievement and external validation. While overachievement may provide temporary relief, it tends to increase anxiety over the long term due to insufficient recovery and neglect of one’s own needs. This cycle creates a significant risk of exhaustion.
Fear of social failure and embarrassment
One of human beings’ basic needs is to be accepted and to belong. Various relationship difficulties can therefore trigger anxiety and stress. You may try to protect yourself from this by avoiding social situations, engaging in excessive self-monitoring, or over-preparing for situations. Ruminating over situations afterward can also produce anxiety.
Feelings of helplessness and lack of control
Anxiety is typically accompanied by some experience of helplessness. This may stem from, for example, being left alone with difficult emotional experiences as a child, or, conversely, from overprotective care that prevented the development of one’s own abilities. Life events and traumas that exceed one’s psychological tolerance can also create deep feelings of helplessness and insecurity.
About the author of this article
I am Katri Kanninen, Doctor of Psychology, experienced psychotherapist, psychotherapy trainer (CAT), and non-fiction author.