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When you don't know what to blog about, time to head on over to The Sanity Score and see what your latest numbers are. As I've mentioned before (see post in April, Apparently I'm Getting More Sane) I occasionally take the sanity test at PsychCentral just for jollies. Okay, not just for jollies. I take it because even though it isn't a terribly scientific instrument, it does provide something of a benchmark for changes over time. And because I love online quizzes.
And because now that I've taken the quiz three times over the last year, I now have enough data to make a graph. God I love data.
So my Depression score didn't move much, not a surprise, since it dropped a lot in April. But my Anxiety score plummeted from 48 (reflecting a major problem) to 27 (reflecting a moderate to minor problem). I don't think this is really shows how I feel. I feel less anxious, but not quite this much. So I predict the next time I take the test it won't move, or maybe will even be higher. Still, it is an improvement.
I left the Dissociation score in to bring up another point about the test. Just like the Phobia questions, the Dissociation questions don't seem to be written very well. I definitely suffer dissociation whenever I have a flashback triggered, and it is bizarre and uncomfortable. But that symptom does not seem to be captured here very well. I'll note my PTSD score hasn't moved, and still indicates one of my major issues. So perhaps some of the dissociation is represented there. Hard to say.
So my average overall score is now 55. Fifty-five is definitely a sane person (a person with issues, but still a sane person). As I said before, this is starting to look like I have the "resilience, skills, and resources to cope and manage." Odd. But I do almost feel like that. Almost. I do feel more capable, more in control, and less overwhelmed. I hate myself a little less, as reflected by the Self Esteem score, yet self esteem is still one of my major problems. And it is one of the areas which there as been the least amount of change. I will hazard to say that many of the other areas for sub-scores relate to symptoms, and that Self Esteem is more of a core issue. If I can see some improvement there, I might actually believe this isn't just an interim period between major depressions, but instead a real change in my worldview.
As I said in my previous post, "I continue to bemoan the fact that I did not take the test when I was at my worst." Naturally, I hope I never feel that way again. But if I do, I will try to see the bright side of it - that'll be some really good data.
Your Hostess With Neuroses
Image credit/info: Wishing by pinksherbert on Flikr via Creative Commons, CC2.0
5 comments:
Hee hee! I love your opening line to this post. And, BTW, I love your sense of humor on this blog. I might have to try this. Maybe I could see if my dissociation score drops. My T says I'm improving in that area, but it would be cool to see it on a graph like that.
Hello Marj: I'm glad my sense of humor comes through in the writing. It's one of my major coping mechanisms :) And a way I try to keep things in perspective and have fun at the same time. Thanks for the comment!
Yea for 55!
Also, it's interesting/good that the improved score on the test does reflect at least somewhat how you think you actually feel. After all, there are no error bars on the plot, so it's hard to tell how meaningful the changes are on there otherwise.
Wonderful that you see a correlation between your data and what you actually feel, even if it is a general observation.
Hey drugsaregood and Amy: Yes, the general correlation between score and how I feel is interesting, and does help me in attempting to quantify something that is so qualitative. Yeah, error bars would be nice, to bad the system in question isn't closed and all the variables are degenerate :)
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