How severe is your anxiety?
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The Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HARS) was created as a tool to be used by doctors and therapists to determine the severity of a patient’s anxiety. The patient is given fourteen relevant questions which are based upon typical symptoms that people experience. The first thirteen of these questions are answered by the patient based upon interviews and questions asked, whereas the last question is used by the therapists to show how they feel the patient is actually doing.
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In 1959, there was no other test that was able to measure the psychic and somatic or physical levels of an anxiety sufferer. As a result Max Hamilton created the HARS test. Adolescents, children and old people have all been shown to be suitable candidates The test itself was developed using the statistical technique of factor analysis which allowed Hamilton to create a list of the symptoms related to anxiety and then break them down into mental and physical symptoms.
The patient is questioned by a therapist or doctor and his or her answers are then graded from 0-4, with 4 representing the highest level of anxiety. When the test is finished, the doctor or therapist tots up the scores and uses the total to make a determination of the patients anxiety levels. There are 7 questions that are focused on the mental aspects of a patients condition and a further 7 focusing on the physical aspects.
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Anyone with a score of 17 or less is considered to be only mildly anxious and can be helped through therapy. This may not always hold true. Quite frequently patients lie to prevent embarrassment about the degree of their anxiety. This is where the skill and training of the therapist or doctor can come into play. Scores from 18-24 show a moderate level of anxiety, this degree of anxiety can be handled by teaching the patient coping techniques such as meditation and breathing exercises. Any patient that scores more than 25 is experiencing severe anxiety. When anxiety is this bad there may be a call for the short term use of medication which can be used in conjunction with CBT and other relaxation techniques.
The results whilst useful may be affected by the ability of the therapist and the honesty of the patient. In fact the questions reflect not only the patients answers but the therapists interpretation of the answers. Whilst not perfect, in the right hands the test has proven to work remarkably well. One area of weakness though is the tendency for patients suffering from depression to score highly on the HARS test.
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The HARS test is probably the most frequently used test to measure anxiety despite the fact that the results can sometimes be skewed. The reality is that over very many years HARS has demonstrated that it is accurate and consistent. Combined with the correct type and degree of treatment, many people are able to cure themselves of this debilitating condition.
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