To distinguish between anxiety and mental depression the Beck Anxiety Scale was developed. The advantages to the Beck Anxiety Scale for clinical and research reasons are over the actual report from a physician.

There are 21 items on the Beck Anxiety Scale. Each one of these describes a common symptom of anxiety. The person is asked to rate how much they have been bothered by each symptom over the past week on a 4 point scale ranging from 0 to 3. The symptoms are then added up to obtain a total score that can range from 0 to 63.

The number of people in the United States that are suffering from anxiety disorders and depression is staggering. Many areas of life situations can bring on anxiety and those symptoms can often act like other conditions. A heart attack can be confused with a panic attack.

People do not have a lot of tools to tell the level of anxiety that they are suffering from. However. The Beck Anxiety Scale can do this. When a person is using the Beck Anxiety Scale, they are asked to rate the 21 categories on a scale of zero to three. Zero means the symptoms do not bother then. People will give one point if it mildly bothered them, two if it was moderately disturbing and three for something that severely bothered them.

When the people have read the 21 different categories, they will then add up their points and come up with their final score. At this point, they can look at the chart and see how severe their anxiety is.

A person is considered to be suffering from low anxiety levels when they score 0-21. This score can be considered a positive sign as long as the person taking the test has been honest in answering the questions. If they are not this could be a false assessment. If this is the case the person is hiding their symptoms and is acting as though nothing is wrong.

If a person has a score of 22-35 they are said to be in the moderate anxiety category. This score tells them their body is giving them warning signs that need addressed. This might mean they have a phobia or a more serious medical condition. They have therapies and remedies available to them.

A person is in need of help when they have a score over 36. Mental stress at this level is bad and needs treated right away so their mental and physical health does not deteriorate.

For more information and queries about The Beck Anxiety Scale please send all messages to Neil Redfern at www.upbeatandconfident.com