Type of Attitude Towards Illness, TOBOL Test - the question form

Since I became ill, I have felt unwell almost all the time.

I feel energetic and full of strength almost all the time.

I try to overcome feeling unwell.

I try not to show others when I feel unwell.

I almost always have some kind of pain.

I feel unwell after upsetting events.

I start to feel unwell when I am expecting trouble.

I try to endure pain and physical suffering patiently.

My well-being is quite satisfactory.

Since I became ill, I have had periods of feeling unwell with irritability and a feeling of sadness.

My well-being depends greatly on how other people treat me.

None of these statements applies to me.

As a rule, my mood is very good.

Because of my illness, I am often impatient and irritable.

My mood worsens because I anticipate possible troubles, worry about loved ones, and feel uncertain about the future.

Because of my illness, I do not allow myself to give in to despondency or sadness.

Because of my illness, I almost always feel in a bad mood.

My low mood depends on how unwell I feel.

My mood has become completely indifferent.

I have bouts of dark irritability during which people around me get the brunt of it.

I do not feel despondent or sad, but I may feel hardened and angry.

Even minor troubles upset me a great deal.

Because of my illness, I feel anxious all the time.

None of these statements applies to me.

When I wake up, I immediately make myself get up.

Morning is the hardest time of day for me.

If something upsets me, I cannot fall asleep for a long time.

I sleep poorly at night and feel sleepy during the day.

I sleep little but wake up feeling refreshed. I rarely have dreams.

In the morning I am more active, and it is easier for me to work than in the evening.

I sleep poorly and restlessly, and I often have distressing, gloomy dreams.

In the morning I get up feeling alert and energetic.

I wake up thinking about what I will need to do today.

At night I have episodes of fear.

In the morning I feel completely indifferent to everything.

At night, I am especially troubled by thoughts about my illness.

In my dreams I see all kinds of illnesses.

None of the statements applies to me.

I often feel self-conscious about eating in front of other people

I have a good appetite

I have a poor appetite

I like to eat a hearty meal

I eat with pleasure and do not like to restrict myself in food

My appetite is easily spoiled

I am afraid of spoiled food and always check carefully that it is safe to eat

Food interests me primarily as a way to maintain my health

I try to follow a diet that I have created for myself

Food gives me no pleasure

None of the statements describes me

My illness frightens me.

I am so tired of the illness that I do not care what happens to me.

I try not to think about my illness and to live a carefree life.

What depresses me most about my illness is that people have begun to avoid me.

I constantly think about all possible complications related to the illness.

I think my illness is incurable and that nothing good awaits me.

I believe my illness has worsened because of doctors' inattention and lack of competence.

I believe doctors exaggerate how dangerous my illness is.

I try to overcome the illness and work as before, or even more.

I feel that my illness is much more severe than doctors can determine.

I am healthy, and illness does not concern me.

My illness is completely unusual—not like other people's—and therefore requires special attention.

My illness irritates me and makes me impatient and short-tempered.

I know who is to blame for my becoming ill, and I will never forgive it.

I try with all my strength not to give in to the illness.

None of these statements applies to me.

I avoid any treatment, hoping my body will overcome the illness on its own if I think about it less.

I am afraid of the difficulties and risks associated with the upcoming treatment.

I would be willing to undergo even the most painful and risky treatment if it would rid me of the illness.

I do not believe the treatment will be successful and consider it pointless.

I look for new ways of treatment, but unfortunately I am continually disappointed in all of them.

I believe I am being prescribed many unnecessary medications and procedures, and being pressured into a useless operation.

Any new medications, procedures, or operations lead me to constant thoughts about possible complications and dangers.

Medications and procedures often affect me in such an unusual way that it surprises the doctors.

I believe that some of the treatment methods being used are so harmful that they should be banned.

I believe I am being treated incorrectly.

I do not need any treatment.

I am tired of endless treatment and want to be left alone.

I avoid talking about treatment with other people.

It irritates and angers me when treatment does not lead to improvement.

None of these statements applies to me.

The most important quality in any healthcare professional is being attentive to the patient.

I would prefer to be treated by a doctor who is well known.

I believe that I became ill primarily because of doctors' fault.

It seems to me that doctors understand little about my illness and only pretend to treat it.

It makes no difference to me who treats me or how.

I often worry that I did not tell the doctor something important that could affect the success of treatment.

Doctors and medical staff often make me feel dislike.

I go from one doctor to another because I am not confident that the treatment will be successful.

I have great respect for the medical profession.

I have repeatedly found that doctors and staff are inattentive and do not perform their duties conscientiously.

I can be impatient and irritable with doctors and medical staff and later regret it.

I am healthy and do not need doctors' help.

I feel that doctors and medical staff are wasting their time on me.

None of these statements applies to me.

I am so preoccupied with thoughts about my illness that the affairs of those close to me no longer concern me.

I try not to let my family and loved ones see that I am ill, so as not to dampen their mood.

My loved ones are unnecessarily trying to make me out to be seriously ill.

I am troubled by thoughts that, because of my illness, my loved ones will face hardship and misfortune.

My family does not want to understand how serious my illness is and does not sympathize with my suffering.

My loved ones do not take my illness into account and want to live for their own pleasure.

I feel embarrassed about my illness even in front of those close to me.

Because of my illness, I have lost all interest in the matters and concerns of my family and loved ones.

Because of my illness, I have become a burden to my loved ones.

The healthy appearance and carefree life of my loved ones causes me resentment.

I believe I became ill because of my family.

I try to burden my loved ones as little as possible with difficulties and worries because of my illness.

None of these statements applies to me.

My illness makes me unfit for work (or unable to study).

I am afraid that because of my illness I will lose a good job (or have to leave a good educational institution).

My work (or studies) has become completely indifferent to me.

Because of my illness, I can no longer focus on work (or studies).

I am constantly worried that because of my illness I might make a mistake at work (or not cope with my studies).

I believe I became ill because my work (or studies) harmed my health.

At work (or at my place of study), they do not take my illness into account at all and even pick on me.

I do not think my illness can interfere with my work (or studies).

I try to make sure that as few people as possible at work (or at my place of study) know about or talk about my illness.

I believe that despite my illness, I should continue working (or studying).

My illness has made me restless and impatient at work (or in my studies).

At work (or while studying), I try to forget about my illness.

Everyone is surprised and impressed by how successfully I work (or study) despite my illness.

My health does not prevent me from working (or studying) where I want.

None of these statements fits me.

Now it makes no difference to me who is around me

I want other people to just leave me alone

Other people’s healthy appearance and cheerfulness irritate me

I try to make sure that others do not notice my illness

My health does not prevent me from socializing with others as much as I want

I would like other people to experience for themselves how hard it is to be ill

It seems to me that other people avoid me because of my illness

Other people do not understand my illness or my suffering

My illness and the way I cope with it surprise and shock other people

I try not to talk about my illness with others

The people around me made me ill, and I will not forgive it

Being around people now quickly tires me and even irritates me

My illness does not prevent me from having friends

None of these statements applies to me

I prefer being alone because I feel better when I am by myself.

I feel that my illness condemns me to complete loneliness.

When I am alone, I try to find some interesting or useful activity to do.

When I am alone, distressing thoughts about my illness, possible complications, and future suffering trouble me especially.

Often, when I am by myself, I feel calmer; people have started to irrit me a lot.

Because I feel embarrassed about my illness, I try to distance myself from people, but when I am alone I miss them.

I avoid being alone so that I do not think about my illness.

I no longer care whether I am around other people or alone.

My desire to be alone depends on the circumstances and my mood.

I am afraid of being alone because of concerns related to my illness.

None of these statements applies to me.

My illness makes my future sad and bleak.

My health so far gives me no reason to worry about the future.

I always hope for a happy future, even in the most desperate situations.

With careful treatment and following my regimen, I hope to achieve an improvement in my health in the future.

I do not believe that my illness can substantially affect my future.

I link my future entirely with success in my work (studies).

I have become indifferent about what will happen to me in the future.

Because of my illness, I am constantly anxious about my future.

I am sure that, in the future, mistakes and negligence on the part of those responsible for my becoming ill will come to light.

When I think about my future, I am overcome by sadness and irritation toward other people.

Because of my illness, I am very worried about my future.

None of the statements apply to me.