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What Type of Anxiety Do I Have? Understanding Your Unique Anxiety Pattern

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Have you ever wondered why your anxiety feels different from what others describe? Perhaps you've noticed that while your friend gets nervous before presentations, you find yourself replaying every conversation from last week, searching for mistakes you might have made.

Or maybe you've realized that your racing thoughts aren't about social situations at all, but rather an endless loop of "what-ifs" about everything from work deadlines to whether you locked the front door that drive you to near panic.

Understanding what type of anxiety you experience isn't just about putting a label on your mental health or your feelings—it's about discovering the specific patterns and rules that keep you stuck, so you can finally break free from them - and potentially get the right type of treatment.

When you take this comprehensive anxiety test, you receive something far more valuable than a simple diagnosis or category.


Think of it like the difference between knowing you have "car trouble" versus understanding exactly which part is malfunctioning and why. The quiz reveals your unique anxiety blueprint across three essential layers.

It's not an official diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, you'll need to see a mental health professional or therapist for that, but it may help you begin to understand what / if you have an anxiety disorder and if you want to get more support for it.   We actually use it as a screening tool as part of our Anxiety Audit Sessions.

The Anxiety Types Quiz will only take a few minutes of your time, and the test results get emailed to you instantly. The test might help you decide if you should seek therapy or treatment, and the questions will help you understand your self stress levels. 

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Your Personal Anxiety Blueprint: Beyond Generic Labels

First, you'll identify your primary anxiety type—whether it's social anxiety, generalized anxiety, or perfectionism-based anxiety.

But here's where it gets interesting: the test goes deeper to uncover the specific and common "rules" your anxiety follows. These are the hidden patterns that keep you stuck, like "The Comparison Contract" that makes you constantly measure yourself against others, or "The Worry Is The Solution Paradox" that tricks you into believing that constant mental rehearsal keeps you safe.

Finally, you'll discover in the Anxiety Types Quiz your anxiety archetype—the deeper personality pattern that shapes how anxiety uniquely manifests in your life. Are you "The Strategist," trying to control every variable to feel safe? Or perhaps "The Performer," whose self-worth rises and falls with each perceived success or failure?

This three-dimensional understanding transforms anxiety from a mysterious force into something concrete you can include in your personal threapy and actually work with.

Why Knowing The Anxiety Types Quiz Matters: The Disorders

Think of anxiety as having its own personality, complete with preferences, habits, and predictable behaviors. 

Anxiert only has one care - to keep you small, safe and separate, and it does that through a series of rules you follow, without knowing it- I call these 'The Ten Rules Of Anxiety', the quiz is helpful at screening your answers to find the top rules you follow.

Just as you wouldn't use the same key for every lock, you can't use the same approach for every type of anxiety. When you understand your specific anxiety pattern, you gain something invaluable: a roadmap to recovery that actually fits your experience and your life..

Many people spend years trying generic relaxation techniques or one-size-fits-all coping strategies, only to feel frustrated when these approaches barely scratch the surface.

The truth is, social anxiety responds to different interventions than generalized anxiety, and perfectionism-based anxiety has its own unique needs entirely.

Identifying your type isn't about limiting yourself—it's about targeting your efforts where they'll make the most difference. If you're ready to Get Test Results, click below.

The Hidden Rules of Anxiety

What most people don't realize is that anxiety operates according to specific rules—patterns of thinking that keep you trapped in cycles of fear and avoidance. These aren't conscious choices you're making; they're more like software programs running in the background of your mind.

For instance, you might be living by the "Comparison Contract," constantly measuring yourself against others and always coming up short. Or perhaps the "Law of Inadequacy" convinces you that you're fundamentally incapable of handling challenges, making you forget every difficult situation you've successfully navigated in the past.

Understanding these hidden rules is crucial because it reveals why traditional advice like "just think positive" or "stop worrying" doesn't work. You can't simply override these deeply embedded patterns through willpower alone—you need to understand how they operate before you can change them.

The Three Main Types of Anxiety

Social Anxiety Disorder: When Life Feels Like Being a Stage

One of the most common mental health disorders, that cause anxious thoughts around social situations

If you have social anxiety, every interaction may feel like a performance where you're constantly being evaluated. Your mind becomes a hypervigilant scanner, turning innocent glances into judgments and casual comments into criticisms. What others experience as simple conversations become exhausting mental gymnastics for you, as you monitor every word, gesture, and reaction.

Social anxiety transforms ordinary situations into minefields. You might find you have a racing heart, difficulty breathing in public, or you may experience that you're more likely to decline invitations to events where you don't know many people. Common symptoms include preparing exit strategies before you even arrive at a party. After social interactions, you likely spend hours replaying conversations, searching for evidence that you said something wrong or made a fool of yourself.

The physical symptoms can be particularly challenging—your body might betray you with blushing, sweating, or even a "freeze" response where your mind goes blank at the worst possible moments. This isn't just shyness; it's a complex pattern where your self-worth feels constantly on trial in the court of others' opinions.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder : The Worry That Never Stops

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is like having a worry playlist stuck on repeat in your mind. From the moment you wake up, your thoughts race through an endless catalog of concerns—from minor daily tasks to catastrophic future scenarios that may never happen. Your mind becomes a 24/7 news channel, broadcasting breaking alerts about potential disasters.

People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder often describe feeling "nickeled and dimed" by worries throughout the day. You might find yourself mentally rehearsing conversations that haven't happened yet, planning for problems that don't exist, and feeling physically tense even when nothing threatening is actually occurring. When things are going smoothly, instead of enjoying the peace, you're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

What makes GAD particularly exhausting is that worry feels productive—like you're preparing for problems or preventing bad outcomes through mental vigilance. But this is anxiety's clever trick. Worry doesn't solve problems; it generates them, keeping you trapped in a cycle where your mind never gets to rest.

Perfectionism-Based Anxiety: Everything Needs To Be Perfect

With perfectionism-based anxiety, your worth becomes inextricably tied to your performance. Every task, no matter how small, transforms into a test of your value as a person. You set impossibly high standards while simultaneously believing you'll never meet them, creating a paralyzing trap where both starting and failing feel equally terrifying.

This type of anxiety often shows up as chronic procrastination—not from laziness, but from the overwhelming pressure to be perfect. You might spend hours over-preparing for tasks that others approach casually, or find yourself unable to start projects because you can't guarantee a flawless outcome. When someone else receives recognition or achieves success, it feels like evidence of your own inadequacy.

The comparison game becomes particularly toxic with perfectionism-based anxiety. Social media transforms into a highlight reel of others' successes, each post another piece of evidence that you're falling behind. You might notice every achievement others attain that you haven't, while dismissing your own accomplishments as "not good enough" or "what anyone would do."

Taking the First Step: Anxiety Types Quiz

Recognizing that you need help understanding your anxiety takes courage. Many people spend years trying to manage their symptoms alone, not realizing that anxiety follows predictable patterns that can be mapped and addressed systematically.

The beauty of understanding your anxiety type is that it immediately makes your experience feel less mysterious and overwhelming. When you can name what's happening and understand why, you reclaim some power from anxiety's grip. You stop feeling like you're fundamentally flawed and start seeing anxiety as a pattern that can be changed.

Whether you're exhausted from the social performance anxiety demands, tired of the endless worry loop, or crushed under the weight of impossible standards, knowing your specific anxiety type is the first step toward freedom. It's not about labeling yourself—it's about understanding the unique way anxiety shows up in your life so you can develop strategies that actually work for your situation.

Taking a comprehensive anxiety assessment designed by mental health professionals gives you something invaluable: a clear picture of not just what type of anxiety you have, but the specific rules it follows and the patterns that keep you stuck. Armed with this knowledge, you can finally stop using generic strategies that don't fit and start building an approach tailored to your unique anxiety pattern.

Remember, millions of people experience anxiety, but no two anxiety patterns are exactly alike. Understanding yours is the key to finding your way forward and the Anxiety Types Quiz is a great first step.

The Best Treatment and Therapy For Social Anxiety and Anxiety Related Mental Disorders.

 

This online quiz I created is the first part of a comprehensive assessment self test that we offer as our Anxiety Audit Session. It takes just 2 minutes but provides insights that can transform how you understand and approach your social anxiety.

Developed by mental health professional and licensed therapist Oliver Drakeford, LMFT, it's the first step toward breaking free from the rules that keep you stuck. We offer online and in-person support for all types of anxiety disorder including social anxiety - learn more here. We offer anxiety groups, professional diagnosis and behavioral / CBT / Systempic approaches

The best approach to therapy for social phobia I've found and practice  is a strategic form of CBT - cognitive behavioral therapy- that confronts the signs and symptoms of anxious thoughts with the deliberate removal of safety crutches.

Clients are coached to seek activities that provoke uncertainty—asking for rejection or letting awkward silences breathe—because actively requesting stronger anxiety retrains the amygdala to tolerate distress and dismantles rules like constant self-attack and comparison

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Contact

8702 Santa Monica Boulevard

West Hollywood, CA, 90069

Our Commitment to Your Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy Policy: At Oliver Drakeford Therapy, we deeply respect the privacy and confidentiality of our clients. We adhere to the highest ethical standards to ensure that all information shared during therapy sessions is kept strictly confidential. Our therapy process is built on a foundation of trust and discretion, and we are committed to creating a safe and supportive environment for our clients. We follow all legal and professional guidelines to protect your personal and sensitive information. Please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns regarding our privacy and confidentiality practices with us during your initial consultation or at any point in your therapy journey

Oliver Drakeford, LMFT, CGP - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, #104987

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