Walking in Quicksand: Apprehensive and Blue Behavior

If you were to follow a depressed or anxious person around, you might see some behavioral signs of their emotional turmoil. That’s because depression and anxiety on the inside affect what people do on the outside. For example, a depressed person may look tired, move slowly, or withdraw from friends and family; an anxious person may avoid socializing or have a trembling voice.

Take the quiz in Worksheet 1-2 to see if your behavior indicates a problem with anxiety and/or depression. Check off each statement that applies to you.

Worksheet 1-2 The Distraught Behavior Quiz

1	I’ve been crying for no clear reason.
2	I pace around when I’m worried.
3	Sometimes I can’t make myself get out of bed.
4	I avoid going into crowded areas.
5	I can’t seem to make myself exercise.
6	I avoid risks because I’m afraid of failure.
7	I don’t do things for fun lately.
8	I always play things on the safe side.
9	I’ve been missing work lately because I just don’t have the motivation.
10	I’m really Fidgety.
11	I’ve been doing everything at a much slower pace for no good reason.
12	I avoid people or places that remind me of a bad past experience.
13	I don’t care what I look like anymore.
14	I spend too much time making sure I look okay.
15	I don’t laugh anymore.
16	My hands shake when I’m nervous.
17	I’ve been letting things go that I need to attend to.
18	I feel compelled to repeat actions (such as hand washing, checking locks, arranging things in a certain way, and so on).

Again, there’s no pass or fail on this quiz. The more items you check, the greater the problem. Even-numbered items are most consistent with anxiety, and odd-numbered items largely indicate depression. And, of course, like many people, you may have symptoms of both types of problems.