a. Is this symptom new in onset or more longstanding (i.e., what is my history with this particular symptom?)
b. Is this symptom present more in my mind (e.g., worry) or in my body (e.g., nausea)
c. How high is the temperature on the anxiety thermometer
d. When I have had these symptoms before, what has helped me?
e. What kind of treatment does my doctor think would help me the most (short-term versus long-term, dynamic versus behavioral, medication versus not, psychiatrist versus psychologist or social worker, symptom focus versus personality focus)
f. How much does substance abuse complicate my condition and/or improvement
g. What makes my symptoms get better or worse during this episode? h. Who else in my family has any symptom like this and what has helped them get better, or what has made them worse
i. What does this particular symptom mean to me
j. How much of my anxiety comes from feeling alone or unable to cope by myself, and how much of it comes from feeling that what I feel will be unacceptable to others (i.e., they would leave me if they knew what I was really feeling)?