Quiz: Where are your blues coming from?

Are you blue for what appears to be no good reason? Maybe there is one. For each of the 10 questions that follow, mark the answer that best applies to you. An evaluation and a suggested course of action follow.

1. In a hurry to get home after a long day, you find yourself stuck in a mega–traffic jam. You:
a React typically by feeling frustrated and helpless. The traffic seems like just one more thing wrong in your life.
b Freak out and then find yourself feeling down. You wonder, Why can I sometimes take this kind of frustration in stride while other times it pushes me over the edge?
c Feel very discouraged. You had wanted to get home in time to have some predinner quality time with your youngster, who's struggling at school.
d Anxiously blame yourself for not planning your route home better. This leaves you with little time to make dinner before driving the kids to their music lessons.
e Pop in your favourite CD and try to relax, recognizing that the traffic is beyond your control.

2. Your ex calls to say he can't take the kids this weekend, disrupting your plans for a quiet couple of days alone. You feel:
a Weak ("If I had any salt, I'd stand up to him") and hopeless ("I'll never have time for myself").
b Dismayed. This is just one of those weeks when you can't seem to get along with anybody!
c Sad and emotional, partly on behalf of your kids. You know your ex has started seeing someone new and you're concerned about the effect that will have on them.
d Overwhelmed and defeated. You really needed the time to get caught up on housework.
e Resigned. He has done this before. Maybe you can salvage the situation by getting a babysitter and going to the gym on Saturday afternoon.

3. An opportunity for a promotion came up at work, but, although you applied for it, the job was given to a colleague. You:
a Feel like a failure.
b Are devastated but know that you'll get over your rather extreme reaction in a couple of weeks.
c Feel crushed, especially since you were already upset over a project that your boss wasn't happy with.
d Find that the news is a real letdown. The accompanying raise would have really eased your financial worries.
e Are disappointed and ask your boss for a meeting to discuss how you can acquire the skills needed to qualify for the next opportunity.

4. You have just read a newspaper article about a tragic accident. Naturally, it's upsetting, and you:
a Think that the world is a terrible place if things like this can happen.
b Start obsessing about such a thing happening to you or your newborn baby.
c Are plunged into sadness, reminded of a loved one's similar accident.
d Resolve to not read the paper for a while. Adding this kind of upsetting news to your existing concerns is too overwhelming.
e Feel sympathetic toward the victim and his family.

5. It's Saturday morning and your partner suggests that the two of you spend some time gardening – one of your favourite hobbies. The prospect:
a Makes you feel tired – even before you've so much as looked at a rake.
b Is appealing. Maybe digging in the dirt will be a good way to work off some restlessness.
c Reminds you of happier times when your kids were younger and enthusiastic about such things and didn't challenge every single word you said.
d Makes you feel guilty. You know there's work to do in the yard, in the basement, at the office, in the garage…
e Puts you in a great mood.