Illustration of a man covering his ears while anxiety COVID-19 thoughts swirl around his head

What to know: 2020 has been a year like no other in recent history and everyone is starting to feel the cumulative effects. A project out now from a team of researchers offers some help, by measuring levels of anxiety related to the coronavirus through a simple self-assessment. The Coronavirus Anxiety Project offers a five-question quiz that allows you to measure how much anxiety is impacting your daily life right now. If you find it’s affecting you too much, there are resources available to help.

A reasonable level of attention and reflection on COVID-19 information can help people stay safe during the crisis, but too much disturbing thinking about this infectious disease can be debilitating and unhealthy. — Steven Taylor, The Psychology of Pandemics

Related:​ Download The Mighty app to connect in real time with people who can relate to what you’re going through.

The Frontlines: The Coronavirus Anxiety Project developed three diagnostic tools to assist users in self-assessing their level of coronaphobia. In addition to the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale quiz, they also offer the Obsession with COVID-10 Scale and the Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale. Scores above 7 on the former and 12 on the latter indicate an individual could benefit from further assessment or treatment, though each person should evaluate that need personally.

There are several types of anxiety disorders including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, phobia-related disorders and social anxiety disorder, among others

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue in the U.S., with 19% of adults experiencing at least one form of the condition

Symptoms of generalized anxiety include feeling restless or on-edge, being fatigued easily, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, worry and sleep problems

A Mighty Voice: Our contributor Antonieta Contreras wrote about one common but less talked about response you may be experiencing as we readjust to a more open society after the lockdown. “Our brain can’t digest so much uncertainty; it gets overwhelmed and will try to take us out of that state by removing the control from our will. The brain, doing its thing — as in making us anxious, depressed or rigid — is supposed to be keeping us protected from danger; it doesn’t matter at what social or psychological cost. That’s what is called ‘defense.’” You can submit your first person story, too.

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Related:​ Some Teachers Are So Terrified of Schools Reopening, They’re Preparing Wills

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From Our Community:

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Other things to know: There are multiple kinds of anxiety disorders but generalized anxiety disorder is the most common. Learn how others are coping with anxiety in their own world:

More resources: You can take an interactive version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Quiz on PsychCentral. Here are some other resources to bookmark:

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