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Self-checks

Anxiety signals self-check

A short self-check across three angles of anxiety: recurring worry, physical tension and avoidance, based on the past two weeks.

3-5 minutes15 questions

Think back over the past two weeks and answer each statement based on how often it actually applied, not how you think you should feel. There is no pass or fail here. If two options both feel close, pick the one that comes closer to a typical day rather than your hardest day.

Recurring worryPhysical tensionAvoidance

This is an original set of questions written for this site. It is not the GAD-7, the Beck Anxiety Inventory or any other validated clinical instrument, and it does not produce a clinical score or diagnosis. If anxiety is disrupting your sleep, work or relationships, or if you ever have thoughts of self-harm, contact a doctor or mental health professional rather than relying on this result alone.

Not the same as a clinical test

This tool uses plain, original questions rather than a validated questionnaire, so it cannot replace a formal screening instrument or a clinician's assessment.

Three angles, not one number

Worry, physical tension and avoidance often move together, but not always. Separating them can show which one is actually driving how you feel.

A starting point for a conversation

Use your results to describe specific patterns to a doctor, rather than treating the labels themselves as a conclusion about what is going on.

Why anxiety looks different from person to person

Some people mostly notice racing thoughts and difficulty switching off. Others notice their body first, a tight chest, clenched jaw or stomach unease, before they consciously register worry at all. A third pattern is behavioral: quietly rearranging plans to dodge situations that feel uncomfortable. This check treats those as three separate angles rather than assuming everyone experiences anxiety the same way.

Life abroad adds its own triggers

For residents and travelers in Vietnam, common anxiety triggers include visa renewals, navigating healthcare in a second language, traffic, and distance from a familiar support network. None of that is a flaw in coping; it is ordinary stress load on top of whatever else is already present. Naming the actual source to yourself, or to a clinician, is often more useful than trying to make the anxiety disappear on its own.

When avoidance becomes the bigger problem

Avoiding a genuinely dangerous situation is sensible. Avoiding ordinary things such as phone calls, social plans or medical appointments because of anxious dread is different, and it tends to feed the anxiety it is meant to relieve. If your results point mostly toward avoidance, that pattern is often worth raising directly with a professional, since it can be addressed more directly than worry itself.

Before you start

Is this the same as the GAD-7?

No. This self-check uses original questions written for this site and covers three separate angles of anxiety. The GAD-7 is a validated seven-item questionnaire with officially published cutoffs; this site also publishes that tool separately for readers who want a formal screening result.

What should I do if my result is high across all three areas?

Consider talking to a doctor or mental health professional, especially if anxiety is affecting sleep, concentration or daily plans. Bring specific examples from the past two weeks rather than just the overall label, since concrete detail helps a clinician assess what is going on.

Can stress and anxiety look the same on this check?

They overlap. Short-term stress tied to a clear deadline usually eases once the deadline passes, while anxiety often persists or shifts to a new worry even after the original trigger is gone. If your pattern feels ongoing rather than tied to one event, mention that timeline to a clinician.