Anxiety and Depression Workbook For Dummies. Laura L. Smith

my anxiety or depression? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Surveying Current Stress

In the search for causes of your anxiety or depression, you need to include a review of your world. Open your eyes and observe. What’s going on in your life that aggravates your distress? From daily traffic hassles to major losses, stressful events deplete your coping resources and even harm your health. Complete The Current Culprits Survey in Worksheet 2-5 to uncover the sources of your stress. You can’t make your world less stressful unless you first identify the stress-causing culprits.

You may notice that a few of these items have positive aspects to them. For example, retirement or the purchase of a new home may be exciting. However, all major changes, whether positive or negative, carry significant stress that tags along for the ride.

Worksheet 2-5 The Current Culprits Survey

1. In the past year or so, have I lost anyone I care about through death, divorce, or prolonged separation? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Have I suffered from any serious physical injury or illness? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Have finances caused me any difficulty recently? Or have I made any major purchases such as a new house or car? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Am I having arguments or conflicts with anyone? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Are there problems at work, such as new responsibilities, longer hours, or poor management? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Have I made any major changes in my life, such as retirement, a new job, or a new relationship? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Do I have major responsibility for the care of a parent or child? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Do I have daily hassles, such as a long commute, disturbing noises, or poor living conditions? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Do I suffer from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, appearance, or sexual identity? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. What are my coping skills for dealing with disasters, such as the isolation of the COVID pandemic, floods, hurricanes, and fires? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Drawing Conclusions

You didn’t ask for depression or anxiety. Your distress is understandable if you examine the three major contributors: biology/genetics, your personal history, and the stressors in your world. Take a moment to summarize in Worksheet 2-6 what you believe are the most important origins and contributors to your symptoms of depression or anxiety.

      

As you review your summary, realize that countless circumstances have influenced