Form: Defense Style Questionnaire, DSQ-88

I get satisfaction from helping others and if this were taken away from me I would get depressed.

People often call me a sulker.

I'm able to keep a problem out of my mind until I have time to deal with it.

I'm always treated unfairly.

I work out my anxiety through doing something constructive and creative like painting or woodwork.

Once in a while I put off until tomorrow what I ought to do today.

I keep getting into the same type of frustrating situations and I don't know why

I'm able to laugh at myself pretty easily.

I act like a child when I'm frustrated.

I'm very shy about standing up for my rights with people.

I am superior to most people I know.

People tend to mistreat me.

If someone mugged me and stole my money, I'd rather he'd be helped than punished.

Once in a while I think of things too bad to talk about.

Once in a while I laugh at a dirty joke.

People say I'm like an ostrich with my head buried in the sand. In other words, I tend to ignore unpleasant facts as if they didn't exist.

I stop myself from going all out in a competition.

I often feel superior to people I'm with.

Someone is robbing me emotionally of all I've got.

I get angry sometimes.

I often am driven to act impulsively.

I'd rather starve than be forced to eat.

I ignore danger as if I were Superman.

I pride myself on my ability to cut people down to size.

People tell me I have a persecution complex.

Sometimes when I am not feeling well I am cross.

I often act impulsively when something is bothering me.

I get physically ill when things aren't going well for me.

I'm a very inhibited person.

I'm a real put-down artist.

I do not always tell the truth.

I withdraw from people when I feel hurt.

I often push myself so far that other people have to set limits for me.

My friends see me as a clown.

I withdraw when I'm angry.

I tend to be on my guard with people who turn out to be more friendly than I would have suspected.

I've got special talents that allow me to go through life with no problems.

Sometimes at elections I vote for someone about whom I know very little.

I'm often late for appointments.

I work more things out in my daydreams than in my real life.

I'm very shy about approaching people.

I fear nothing.

Sometimes I think I'm an angel and other times I think I'm a devil.

I would rather win than lose in a game.

I get very sarcastic when I'm angry.

I get openly aggressive when I feel hurt.

I believe in turning the other cheek when someone hurts me.

I do not read every editorial in the newspaper every day.

I withdraw when I'm sad.

I'm shy about sex.

I always feel that someone I know is like a guardian angel.

My philosophy is, “Hear no evil, do no evil, see no evil.”

As far as I'm concerned, people are either good or bad.

If my boss bugged me, I might make a mistake in my work or work more slowly so as to get back at him.

Everyone is against me.

I try to be nice to people I don't like.

I would be very nervous if an airplane in which I was flying lost an engine.

There is someone I know who can do anything and who is absolutely fair and just.

I can keep the lid on my feelings if it would interfere with what I'm doing if I were to let them out.

Some people are plotting to kill me.

I'm usually able to see the funny side of an otherwise painful predicament.

I get a headache when I have to do something I don't like.

I often find myself being very nice to people who by all rights I should be angry at.

There's no such thing as “finding a little good in everyone.” If you're bad, you're all bad.

We should never get angry at people we don't like.

I am sure I get a raw deal from life.

I fall apart under stress.

When I know that I will have to face a difficult situation, like an exam or a job interview, I try to imagine what it will be like and plan ways to cope with it.

Doctors never really understand what is wrong with me.

When someone close to me dies, I don't feel upset.

After I fight for my rights, I tend to apologize for my assertiveness.

Most of what happens to me is not my responsibility.

When I'm depressed or anxious, eating makes me feel better.

Hard work makes me feel better.

My doctors are not able to help me really get over my problems.

I'm often told that I don't show my feelings.

I believe that people usually see more meaning in films, plays or books than is actually there.

I have habits or rituals which I feel compelled to do or else something terrible will happen.

I take drugs, medicine or alcohol when I'm tense.

When I feel bad, I try to be with someone.

If I can predict that I'm going to be sad ahead of time, I can cope better.

No matter how much I complain, I never get a satisfactory response.

Often I find that I don't feel anything when the situation would seem to warrant strong emotions.

Sticking to the task at hand keeps me from feeling depressed or anxious.

I smoke when I'm nervous.

If I were in a crisis, I would seek out another person who had the same problem.

I cannot be blamed for what I do wrong.

If I have an aggressive thought, I feel the need to do something to compensate for it.