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Severe anxiety

Your score suggests severe symptoms of anxiety {survey_total_score} out of possible 36

0-7 Minimal anxiety

8-14 Mild anxiety

15-21 Moderate anxiety

22-36 Severe anxiety

Your answers indicate that you show severe symptoms that could be related to an anxiety disorder. This level of anxiety can cause significant challenges in daily life, and professional support may help you manage your symptoms. Consider reaching out to a Grow Therapy provider who can work with you to develop a personalized plan.

How therapy can help manage anxiety

Anxiety can often feel overwhelming and even debilitating. When trying to cope with anxiety on their own, people often do things that feel helpful, but can actually make anxiety worse. This can include avoiding people or situations that cause anxiety, using substances to relax, or spending a lot of time worrying about things that might happen.

A therapist can help you learn healthier, more effective ways to cope with anxiety with an evaluation and treatment plan. With the help of a trained therapist, most people suffering from anxiety disorders are able to reduce or even eliminate their symptoms long-term.

Severe symptoms can be challenging to manage without professional support

In addition to seeking therapy, consider using some of these strategies

Staying healthy

When you’re struggling with anxiety, focusing on your physical health can be challenging. However, getting enough sleep and physical exercise can help.1,2 When possible, try to:

  • Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
  • Avoid electronic devices, alcohol, and caffeine before bed
  • Engage in regular exercise — even a short, daily walk can help
  • Eat regular meals, drink plenty of fluids, and take any prescribed medications

If you’re new to exercise, consult your physician and start slowly.

Mindfulness techniques

Mindfulness has been proven to reduce anxiety symptoms and improve the ability to cope with stress in life. Incorporating some of these techniques into your life can help moderate your anxiety symptoms.

  • Try breathing exercises: When anxious feelings appear, set a timer for a few minutes. Close your eyes and focus on your inhales and exhales. 
  • Begin a meditation routine: Just a few minutes per day can lower anxiety and have overall benefits for your well-being.3,4 Learn how to meditate.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation: During a quiet moment, scan your body and notice tense or painful places. Wiggle, stretch, and roll to encourage your muscles to relax.

These are just a few examples; mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety in multiple ways.

Find a therapist in your state who specializes in anxiety 

For help with anxiety, consider reaching out to a licensed Grow Therapy provider who specializes in anxiety and accepts your insurance. When starting treatment, your provider may ask you to answer questions similar to the ones in this test as part of your treatment plan.

Sources

  1. Chellappa, S. L., & Aeschbach, D. (2022). Sleep and anxiety: From mechanisms to interventions. Sleep medicine reviews, 61, 101583.
  2. Can exercise help treat anxiety? Harvard Health Blog. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-exercise-help-treat-anxiety-2019102418096
  3. Basso, J. C., McHale, A., Ende, V., Oberlin, D. J., & Suzuki, W. A. (2019). Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators. Behavioural brain research, 356, 208-220.
  4. Xu, M., Purdon, C., Seli, P., & Smilek, D. (2017). Mindfulness and mind wandering: The protective effects of brief meditation in anxious individuals. Consciousness and cognition, 51, 157-165.

Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Archives of internal medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097. Barton, S., Karner, C., Salih, F., Baldwin, D. S., & Edwards, S. J. (2014). Clinical effectiveness of interventions for treatment-resistant anxiety in older people; a systematic review. Health Technology Assessment, 18(50), 1-60. Appendix 1, Diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders set out in DSM-IV and ICD-10 classification systems Hofmann, S. G., & Hay, A. C. (2018). Rethinking avoidance: Toward a balanced approach to avoidance in treating anxiety disorders. Journal of anxiety disorders, 55, 14-21.

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This content has been reviewed by the Grow Therapy Clinical team and is provided as general wellness guidance intended for educational purposes only. It should not be considered medical or clinical advice. If you are having an emergency or have thoughts to harm or kill yourself, please call 911, go to your nearest emergency room, or call / text / chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 confidential support. If you think mental health symptoms are disrupting your life, you can find a licensed therapist who accepts your insurance with Grow Therapy.

Anxiety FAQs

Stress is often situational, triggered from external events like work deadlines, exams, or arguments. The symptoms of stress include headaches, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances, and tend to subside once the stressful trigger is removed. Anxiety, on the other hand, is more persistent (even when stressors are not present), often arising from hypothetical fears of future concerns. While both stress and anxiety share symptoms like increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and sweating, anxiety often involves excessive worry and a sense of dread about future events. While stress can be motivating, helping us rise to a challenge, anxiety can feel debilitating, often interfering with our daily lives.

Anxiety can come in a number of forms, including:

Understanding the types of anxiety and their signs can help you recognize your feelings and get you one step closer to finding the right support.

Anxiety has a broad range of symptoms that can make it difficult to identify, and easy to confuse with other conditions. Anxiety also tends to affect individual people in very different ways. Some common feelings are a sense that something bad will happen, tightness or heaviness in the chest or stomach, racing or cloudy thoughts, and inability to relax. The symptoms of anxiety can typically be broken down into four categories:

  • Emotional – Feeling nervous or on edge, a sense of dread or doom, or that you’re losing control or “going crazy”
  • Physical – Restlessness, muscle tension or headaches, sweating, shaking, and stomach issues like nausea or diarrhea
  • Cognitive – Inability to control worrying (intensity or frequency), not being able to concentrate
  • Behavioral – Becoming easily annoyed or irritated, avoiding people or situations, trouble sleeping

Anxiety can be triggered by a range of situations, thoughts, and experiences, both rational and irrational. Common anxiety triggers include:

  • Stressful life events – Unexpected events like losing a loved one, moving, or divorce
  • Work or school pressures – Meeting deadlines, expectations, and performance-related anxieties
  • Trauma or past experiences – Exposure to past negative memories can trigger anxieties through fear and unease
  • Financial stress – Concerns about money or rising debt
  • Health concerns – Worries about a medical diagnosis, the fear of falling ill, or experiencing symptoms without a cause

Overall, anxiety stems from a deep sense of uncertainty, where the future feels unknown and uncontrollable.

Anxiety can range from occasional to extreme, and can get in the way of everyday life. However, most anxiety can be managed with simple strategies you can implement at home, such as deep breathing exercises, journaling, progressive muscle relaxation, or grounding techniques. Limiting sugar and caffeine intake can also help decrease symptoms of anxiety. A licensed therapist can help you understand your anxiety better and develop strategies to manage symptoms so anxiety impacts your life less.

When you’re feeling anxious, it is helpful to focus on the present moment. Shifting your attention away from future worries can help reduce anxiety’s grip. One way to do this is to focus on your breathing: Take deep, slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth to help calm your mind and body. Grounding yourself in the present moment can be useful as well. Something called the 5-4-3-2-1 technique can help you with this. To do it, follow these steps:

  • Acknowledge five things you can see around you
  • Acknowledge four things you can touch
  • Acknowledge three things you can hear
  • Acknowledge two things you can smell
  • Acknowledge one thing you can taste.

Lastly, move your body by walking or gently stretching. This can help release physical tension that builds up from anxiety.