Could this approach
be right for you?

Has your doctor completed diagnostic testing without finding a definite cause for your pain or illness?

If your physician believes your symptoms are caused by organ disease or structural damage, are you not improving as expected?

Have you had more than one symptom for longer than six months?

Are your symptoms located in different areas of the body or do they move to different locations?

Are your symptoms increased by stress or thinking about stressful situations?

Would you describe yourself as highly detail-oriented, highly self-critical, a perfectionist, or do you routinely put the needs of others ahead of your own?

Are people who caused stress for you as a child still active in your life?

Have you experienced a significant amount of stress in your life recently?

In the last two weeks, have you often felt nervous, anxious or on edge, or been unable to stop or control worrying?

In the last two weeks, have you often felt little interest or pleasure in doing things, or felt down, depressed, or hopeless?

Did your symptoms begin soon after a terrifying, traumatic, or horrifying event, or after a triggering event linked to past trauma?

If you learned that a child you care about was experiencing everything you did as a child, would you feel sad or angry?

Did the symptom begin with no obvious trigger or cause?

If the symptom began after an injury, has it persisted long after the injury should have healed? (Most physical injuries heal in 6 weeks or less.)

Do your symptoms occur after, but not during, activity or exercise?

Are your symptoms less severe or less frequent when you are engaged in enjoyable or distracting activities, such as vacation?

Are your symptoms triggered by foods, smells, sounds, light, computer screens, menses, changes in the weather, or specific movements?

Are your symptoms triggered by the anticipation of stress — prior to school, work, a doctor's visit, a medical test, or a social gathering?

Are your symptoms triggered by light touch or gentle stimuli, such as wind or cold?

Are you often more critical of yourself than others are of you?

Over the course of your life, have you had other physical symptoms that your physician struggled to diagnose?

Do you identify with any of these traits: perfectionist, people pleaser, sensitive to criticism, over-scheduled, hard on yourself, slightly compulsive, or very dependable?