posted
Back in the few months where I actually kept a Blog, I took a note of an interesting self-exploration survey to try to determine how neurotic one was. I didn't find any sort of scoring attatched, but had fun filling it out and discovering my own answers to the questions. I'll share with you my own replies, and look forward to seeing yours. The answers were mine circa mid 2003, for reference.
THE NEUROTICISM SURVEY
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1. Do you long for excitement? Well, sometimes. And sometimes I'd like it if the excitement would chill out and let me be for a few days.
2. Do you often need understanding friends to listen to you? Need? Not as often now as at other points in my life, but it is nice to have people you can blabber on to, and I've got a few people with which I can do just that. And that's just great.
3. Do you find it hard to take no for an answer? Nope. I may even take it too easily.
4. Does your mood often go up and down? Nope, I think I've achieved a pretty nice median.
5. Do you ever feel just miserable for no good reason? Oh, there's always a reason. Like if I'm hungry, and decide that I'd like a bowl of cereal, so I pour the cereal into a bowl, and then take out the milk, unscrew the top, and take a whiff --- and discover that the milk is a week past the date, and smells like Everything That's Wrong With The World. Yeah - that can make me grumpy.
6. Do you suddenly feel shy when you want to talk to an attractive stranger? I usually have no desire to talk to strangers, attractive or no. But for the sake of the question, I'm not the type to approach someone I don't know just for the sake of conversation. I'll ask a question if I feel they'll have an answer that would help me, but apart from that - neh. You won't find me in bars trying to pick up women. Or in libraries, for that matter.
7. Do you often worry about things you should not have done or said? Okay, yeah, I'm guilty on this. Years after I've said something stupid, I'll think about it and cringe. Sure, the person I said it to has most likely completely forgotten the moment in question, but I'll agonize over it for a LONG time. Hmm. This probably will add points towards my Neuroticism score...
8. Are your feelings easily hurt? Not as much now as they used to be. I can "take it"!
9. Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish? Yep, and yep. When I'm discussing something I feel strongly about, I'll be of the bubbly variety, spouting out words faster than my tongue can keep up with. But when I'm tired, or unmotivated - man, I've seen tar-covered snails fly by faster.
10. When people shout at you, do you shout back? Ooooh, I'm oft tempted to, but usually don't. There are, however, very few times when I've actually given into it, and one was with my old boss at the Picture Frame Place/ Book Trader back in Jersey. And Oh, Lord, it felt WONDERFUL.
11. Are all your habits good and desirable ones? Nope. I have quite an unhealthy addiction to the internet.
12. Are you troubled with feelings on inferiority? Once again, not as much as before. Sometimes, yes, I'll get the 'inferiority pangs', but for the most part, I know that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be at this current point in my life, so I don't really worry about what I am - because I'm constantly changing, and growing as a person.
13. Do you worry about your health? Not nearly as much as I should, when my diet is taken into consideration.
14. Do you suffer from sleeplessness? Smetimes, but not too often. I do, however, always wish I could sleep in an hour later than I actually do.
15. Would you call yourself tense or high strung? Not really.
16. After you have done something important, do you often come away feeling you could have done better? Not right away. I feel wonderful, and accomplished. It is at this point where I try specifically NOT to look over the accomplishment, and just thrive in the good feelings and praise - because once I start to reaxime it, of course I'll find flaws I wish I'd fixed.
17. Do ideas run through your head so that you cannot sleep? Occasionally this has happened.
18. Do you get palpitations or thumping in your heart? Nope.
19. Do you get attacks of shaking or trembling? Nope. Although I've hd probably two or three cases in my life where I was physically shaking from anger and frustration - but as said before, it's few and far between, thankfully.
20. Are you an irritable person? Only if you're being noticeably stupid in my general vicinity.
21. Do you worry about awful things that might happen? Nope. I really don't.
22. Do you have nightmares? MY parents tell me that when I was young, I'd often wake them up from screaming in my sleep. When they'd come to check on me, I'd flail my arms in their face, and scream at them to go away. None of my roomates every complained of this phenomenon occuring, so as far as I know it's stopped. But as for the non-screaming-and-flailing nghtmares? Yeah, I've had a few in my day.
23. Are you troubled by aches and pains? No, but I have this tooth that bothers me on a schedule. It'll be funny for a month, and then go away for two. And then BOING! It's back to give me issues.
24. Would you call yourself a nervous person? Nah.
25. Are you easily hurt when people find fault with you or your work? No, I'm grateful they point out my faults to me. How else can I make it better?
Posts: 2689 | Registered: Apr 2000
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1. Do you long for excitement? somewhat...moreso I look for a change, which might be read as a form of excitement...
2. Do you often need understanding friends to listen to you? right now, bothersome as it is, it seems so...although that does make me feel quite in the way and high maintenance, which I don't like much...
3. Do you find it hard to take no for an answer? it all depends...mostly it's not too difficult, although when I can I like to know the reasoning behind it...
4. Does your mood often go up and down? on occasion...
5. Do you ever feel just miserable for no good reason? again...on occasion...it's then that I need the people in question two, but feel high maintenance so I try to balance myself out so I don't put too much on them...
6. Do you suddenly feel shy when you want to talk to an attractive stranger? unless I already know something of what they are like and that there is something to be gained by either party by my speaking with them I won't even consider talking to a stranger, offline odds are I will avoid them completely even if there is something to be gained...I'm not the most social creature...
7. Do you often worry about things you should not have done or said? *shifty eyes* ...er, yeah...just a touch...occasionally coming back to haunt me years after...
8. Are your feelings easily hurt? generally I try very hard to stifle hurt feelings, at the very least enough so they don't show on my face...
9. Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish? occasionally...sometimes that strange switch I have yet to find and control goes into hyper mode where I can be very abubble...although generally I tend to be more sedate...
10. When people shout at you, do you shout back? if I open my mouth it often tries to on it's own...so I will usually just leave or stay silent if I can as I can't stand shouting...
11. Are all your habits good and desirable ones? no they are not, lately I have put more focus on breaking the bad habits I have...
12. Are you troubled with feelings on inferiority? I don't know...one part of me says that I am quite worthless and don't deserve to live...and another part believes that I'm better than most people and you're lucky if I bother to give you a moment of my time...it'd be best if I could work with a happy medium...
13. Do you worry about your health? heh...not really...I'll stop something before it kills me, but otherwise I'm generally fairly apathetic about my health...
14. Do you suffer from sleeplessness? I usually don't go to bed until I'm exhausted to the point of collapsing so I can fall asleep rather quickly...
15. Would you call yourself tense or high strung? I might not myself...my parents figure I am, their answer, being a bit more objective, is probably the more accurate...
16. After you have done something important, do you often come away feeling you could have done better? depending on what it is...if I didn't do it perfectly when I finished I almost always do...or if I'm unsure of what I did I do...but if I knew exactly what I had to do and I did it perfectly I can usually forget about it peacefully...
17. Do ideas run through your head so that you cannot sleep? this is why I stay up until I'm exhausted...so that it doesn't matter if I the ideas won't stop coming my body can't keep up anymore and I just fall asleep instead of being stuck awake for hours on end...
18. Do you get palpitations or thumping in your heart? sometimes...not incredibly often I don't think, though...
19. Do you get attacks of shaking or trembling? rarely...
20. Are you an irritable person? I'd like to think not, but I'm really not sure...I know that when I'm stressed I can be very irritable, but normally I don't know...
21. Do you worry about awful things that might happen? sometimes...especially if they're the potential result of something stupid I've said or done, or if someone keeps describing them to me...
22. Do you have nightmares? I don't really anymore...not that often anyway...although I've had dreams that if they were really happening it would be much like a nightmare, in the dream the feeling was more a morbid/sadistic fascination rather than fear...
23. Are you troubled by aches and pains? sometimes...on occasion I get a sharp pain in my chest for no apparent reason, and sometimes a random ache or headache...but not too often...
24. Would you call yourself a nervous person? not normally...
25. Are you easily hurt when people find fault with you or your work? sometimes...if I'm looking for critique and expect to find errors it doesn't usually bother me much...if I'm happy with what I've done and I actually think I've done a good job it can hurt...
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
1. Do you long for excitement? Yes, sometimes. I get restless and want adventure. Any ideas?
2. Do you often need understanding friends to listen to you? Doesn't everyone?
3. Do you find it hard to take no for an answer? *thinks* Depends on what it is.
4. Does your mood often go up and down? Not usually. (Um, sometimes, usually in correlation witht the moon. More than you needed to know?)
5. Do you ever feel just miserable for no good reason? Not for a while. Lately, if I'm miserable, I can point to one of two causes: hormones, or I just talked to my dad and it was not one of the good conversations.
6. Do you suddenly feel shy when you want to talk to an attractive stranger? I love talking to strangers, and someone being attractive doesn't usually stop me, but it can slow me down. Especially if there's nothing else obvious in common. I don't generally pick up on guys, though - I just like people and their stories. I'm much, much more likely to talk to people when I don't know anyone than if I know a few in the room, though. No audience.
7. Do you often worry about things you should not have done or said? For a little bit, but not for very long.
8. Are your feelings easily hurt? Yeah. It takes almost nothing. Does this add to my score?
9. Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish? Yes, and yes, but it depends more on the company I am with than my personal mood. Different friends bring out different parts of me.
10. When people shout at you, do you shout back? Honestly, I am not often shouted at. The first few times I'll play peacemaker, then all hell breaks loose. When that happens, it's usually such a surprise that the shouting is over.
11. Are all your habits good and desirable ones? Yes. Every one. *looks innocent* (Check out the timestamp.)
12. Are you troubled with feelings on inferiority? Sadly, not so much. Being around my Beautiful People friends (all of whom I like very much, and are relatively secure with, and they are lots of fun) does bring out some insecurities - mostly physical appearance ones. Think personal trainers, $100 haircuts and devotion to fashion, bundled with brains and sociality. Okay, I don't know why the heck they're friends with me.
*small voice* Maybe sometimes.
13. Do you worry about your health? ...No.
14. Do you suffer from sleeplessness? I'm not actually suffering.
15. Would you call yourself tense or high strung? Nah.
16. After you have done something important, do you often come away feeling you could have done better? Only if I really sucked due to a lack of preparation. If I did my best, then it doesn't trouble me.
17. Do ideas run through your head so that you cannot sleep? Sometimes, but usually over big events that deserve the thought.
18. Do you get palpitations or thumping in your heart? Like a panic attack? Not usually, but it has happened a few times. Scared the crud out of me.
19. Do you get attacks of shaking or trembling? Sometimes, at times of great emotion.
20. Are you an irritable person? You tell me.
21. Do you worry about awful things that might happen? No. It doesn't occur to me.
22. Do you have nightmares? Sometimes, but I can usually trace them. I've had a few in recent years where I crept over to my roommate to waker her up so I wouldn't be as scared.
23. Are you troubled by aches and pains? ...No.
24. Would you call yourself a nervous person? Nah.
25. Are you easily hurt when people find fault with you or your work? It depends on how they do it. If I trust that they care about me and have good motivations, then no, I'm glad to hear it. If I don't trust them, or else I know they don't like me, it does hurt.
posted
1. Do you long for excitement? H*ll, NO! Just a little uninterrupted sleep. Of course, that could be pretty exciting . . . .
2. Do you often need understanding friends to listen to you? Who doesn't?
3. Do you find it hard to take no for an answer? Let's see . . . how do you spell that word? Oh right, read my lips . . .
4. Does your mood often go up and down? It's not meant to be a roller coaster?
5. Do you ever feel just miserable for no good reason?
quote:Oh, there's always a reason.
I soundly support that response. Hear, hear!
6. Do you suddenly feel shy when you want to talk to an attractive stranger? I always feel shy.
7. Do you often worry about things you should not have done or said?
quote:Okay, yeah, I'm guilty on this. Years after I've said something stupid, I'll think about it and cringe. Sure, the person I said it to has most likely completely forgotten the moment in question, but I'll agonize over it for a LONG time. Hmm. This probably will add points towards my Neuroticism score...
*Shan sighs in relief - "I'm not alone!"
8. Are your feelings easily hurt? I HATE that stupid nursery rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me." I get over the broken bones far easier, I must confess. My family has accused me since my wee one days of being "too sensitive" - of course, if they had bought a floor mat and used IT instead of ME . . .
9. Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish?
quote:Yep, and yep. When I'm discussing something I feel strongly about, I'll be of the bubbly variety, spouting out words faster than my tongue can keep up with. But when I'm tired, or unmotivated - man, I've seen tar-covered snails fly by faster.
I love that response! It's so true!
10. When people shout at you, do you shout back? No. (Sigh) I have been known to wither a few "out there" characters with some remarkably effective one-liners.
11. Are all your habits good and desirable ones? Well, of course. How could it be otherwise? (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping?)
12. Are you troubled with feelings on inferiority? "On" inferiority or "of" inferiority? There's a difference, I'm sure. What that difference may be, I don't know, but then who would expect me to know? I mean, it's not like I'm some rocket scientist, or millionaire that can afford my own private research company, or . . .
13. Do you worry about your health? After Grammy ran me over, why bother?
14. Do you suffer from sleeplessness? Hmmmm. Looks at the clock. 2:01 a.m. Hmmmm.
15. Would you call yourself tense or high strung? *laughter* My boss told me to chill out today.
16. After you have done something important, do you often come away feeling you could have done better? Would someone define important, please?
17. Do ideas run through your head so that you cannot sleep? Well, it's now 2:03 am, and I can guarantee you that I am not up at this hour because I am partying. No, no, no - I am reliving the last week and a half's worth of site review and compliance monitoring.
18. Do you get palpitations or thumping in your heart? Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the darn thing be making some sort of movement if I'm alive-
19. Do you get attacks of shaking or trembling? Only when I have a panic attack. (grins)
20. Are you an irritable person?
quote:Only if you're being noticeably stupid in my general vicinity.
Perfect - absolutely perfect!
21. Do you worry about awful things that might happen? Most already have. What's to worry about?
22. Do you have nightmares? Yes, I have been consistently reliving my work day - all freaking night long. (Second deep sigh)
23. Are you troubled by aches and pains? Refer to question #13 above.
24. Would you call yourself a nervous person? I'm told I'm too stressed and worry too much. Of course, this is usually by people who are uncomfortable with my focus on task completion in a timely and efficient manner.
25. Are you easily hurt when people find fault with you or your work?
quote:No, I'm grateful they point out my faults to me. How else can I make it better?
Lovely sentiment - I suppose I ought to apply it . . .
posted
1. Do you long for excitement? Yeah, actually. Most of the time. Then again, I'm cool with having some time off every once in a while, too.
2. Do you often need understanding friends to listen to you? Yes. A lot.
3. Do you find it hard to take no for an answer? I do not understand this "no" you speak of. *blank stare*
4. Does your mood often go up and down? Yeah...'s just kind of how I am. You get used to it after a while....being absolutely giddy in the afternoon only to find yourself curled up in bed moping in the evening.
5. Do you ever feel just miserable for no good reason? I usually have reasons, even if they're stupid reasons. Or sometimes I know there's a reason, but I don't know what it is.
6. Do you suddenly feel shy when you want to talk to an attractive stranger? Not any more than anyone else would...actually, I'm a little more outgoing than most people I know, I think. But if I actually _like_ somebody as a person, well...then I forget English.
7. Do you often worry about things you should not have done or said? Yes. I pick apart every little aspect of my life, unfortunately. Usually late at night, when I'm trying to get to sleep, and my mind just won't shut off.
8. Are your feelings easily hurt? Yeah, but I don't show it to many people.
9. Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish? Well, yeah. It depends on what's going on.
10. When people shout at you, do you shout back? In a one-on-one argument, shouting at me inevitably leads to being shouted back at...
11. Are all your habits good and desirable ones? Haha, no. Absolutely not.
12. Are you troubled with feelings on inferiority? Well, yeah, but that's because my greatest fear is being mediocre.
13. Do you worry about your health? Every once in a while. More often lately, what with the whole cyst-on-spleen thing, and all.
14. Do you suffer from sleeplessness? Mostly at night. In the morning, I could just sleep for days.
15. Would you call yourself tense or high strung? Absolutely.
16. After you have done something important, do you often come away feeling you could have done better? At first, no...but then I go back and think about it...
17. Do ideas run through your head so that you cannot sleep? Every night.
18. Do you get palpitations or thumping in your heart? Sometimes, like when I wake up from a dream.
19. Do you get attacks of shaking or trembling? I kind of twitch normally....so not really.
20. Are you an irritable person? Sometimes. It depends on the day.
21. Do you worry about awful things that might happen? Yeah. I have this tendency to come up with far-fetched disasters and worry about them. All the time.
22. Do you have nightmares? Yeah...and just trippy dreams in general. One time, I dreamt I was being hunted down by robotic pterodactyls.
23. Are you troubled by aches and pains? Yeah, but there are some pretty good reasons for that.
24. Would you call yourself a nervous person? Definitely, though most people don't realize it.
25. Are you easily hurt when people find fault with you or your work? Yeah...unless I already know what's wrong with it, and I just wanted someone to say it out loud. Otherwise, I take it pretty personally.
Posts: 9057 | Registered: Nov 2000
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edit: I actually pasted the survey and deleted all your responses and was answering, when I realized "who am I kidding?"
And now that I've read the rest of the thread, I have to say the only real shocker here is that:
I have bad moods for no reason. Sure, I can always think of a reason once I am in a bad mood. But it's pretty much biochemical for me.
Also, I am working on not caring what people think. It used to bother me intensely, but I at least have an ideal of being free of that, which I am moving towards. "I'm babystepping, I'm doing the work!"
posted
I know I'm neurotic. Most of those were yes. I took a personality test not too long ago that sorted things with categories like "Ingenuity" and "Openness to Experience," and I got a 97% on my Neuroticism section. I didn't need that to tell me that, though. It actually is sort of an affliction.
Posts: 2258 | Registered: Aug 2003
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