Dysautonomia is an umbrella term for disorders in which the autonomic nervous system, the network that automatically runs heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and temperature, stops regulating the body correctly. If you are asking do I have dysautonomia, this free symptom quiz and checklist help you see whether your symptoms fit a recognizable autonomic pattern. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), one of the most common forms, is a chronic and often disabling autonomic disorder that usually first appears in adolescence and is frequently set off by a viral infection. It is often mistaken for anxiety before the autonomic cause is recognized.
This quiz will not diagnose you, but it will show whether your symptoms fit an autonomic pattern and what to do next
⚕️ This quiz is educational, not a diagnosis. It cannot replace evaluation by a qualified healthcare provider. Only a clinician can diagnose dysautonomia, using in-person testing. Please discuss your results, and any ongoing symptoms, with your doctor. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call emergency services.
Dysautonomia describes any condition in which the autonomic nervous system misfires. Because that system runs heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sweating, and temperature in the background, the symptoms can seem unrelated: a racing heart on standing, brain fog, stomach trouble, and exhaustion all at once.
It is best understood as a parent category rather than a single disease. The most common, recognizable forms include:
Other forms, including autonomic neuropathy and rarer neurodegenerative conditions, are distinguished by a clinician and cannot be self-identified. The quiz above is built around the common, treatable orthostatic patterns and does not try to name your subtype. If your symptoms started after a head injury, see autonomic dysfunction after concussion for the post-injury form.
Autonomic symptoms cluster across several body systems, which is why they often look unrelated. The validated COMPASS-31 symptom inventory groups them into domains. Use this as a quick dysautonomia symptoms checklist. The more domains you recognize, the more it is worth getting evaluated.
A useful rule of thumb: symptoms that reliably worsen on standing and ease on lying down point toward an autonomic cause rather than anxiety. For an exhaustive symptom-by-symptom breakdown, see the complete list of POTS symptoms, including the ones doctors often miss.
Most autonomic symptoms are not emergencies, but some fainting patterns are.
Seek urgent care or call emergency services if you faint or nearly faint during or right after physical exertion, suddenly with no warning at all, with chest pain or a racing or irregular heartbeat, or while sitting or lying down (not just on standing). The same applies if you have a family history of sudden cardiac death or inherited heart disease alongside any of these episodes. These patterns can signal a heart problem and need in-person evaluation, an ECG or heart monitor, not an online quiz.
Your result has two parts: a likelihood band (likely, possible, or unlikely) and your most-affected autonomic pattern, for example "primarily orthostatic, with significant digestive involvement." It deliberately does not name a specific condition like POTS or orthostatic hypotension. Naming a subtype requires objective in-clinic testing, which no questionnaire can replace.
That is the honest answer to "what type of dysautonomia do I have": a quiz can show your pattern, but only testing can confirm a type. If your symptoms center on a racing heart when you stand, that is the POTS pattern specifically, and our dedicated POTS self-assessment quiz goes deeper on that form.
Anxiety and dysautonomia share a lot of surface features, including palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, and a sense that something is wrong. That overlap is exactly why so many people with autonomic disorders are told it is "just anxiety" first. The clearest differentiator is posture.
| Dysautonomia | Anxiety |
|---|---|
| Symptoms are posture-locked: measurably worse standing, reliably better lying down. | Symptoms track with stressful situations or thoughts, not body position. |
| A racing heart appears within minutes of standing. | A racing heart appears with worry, crowds, or anticipation. |
| Lying flat brings measurable relief. | Distraction or calming the situation brings relief. |
Studies find that people with POTS score higher than controls only on anxiety questionnaires that include autonomic items like a racing heart. When those physical items are removed, the difference largely disappears. So if your "anxiety" reliably worsens within minutes of standing and improves when you sit or lie down, that is worth flagging to your doctor. It is a pattern anxiety alone does not usually produce, and it is one of the most common reasons POTS is misdiagnosed as anxiety.
Several common, treatable conditions cause overlapping symptoms and are worth ruling out with your doctor first:
A questionnaire can flag a pattern, but diagnosis requires objective testing a clinician orders, typically the tilt-table test or an active standing test that measures your heart rate and blood pressure as you change position, sometimes with additional autonomic tests. POTS, for example, is defined by a sustained heart-rate rise of at least 30 beats per minute (40 in adolescents) within 10 minutes of standing, without a drop in blood pressure. If you want the concrete process and timeline, see how POTS is diagnosed and what autonomic testing actually involves.
Here is the encouraging part: many forms of dysautonomia, especially the orthostatic types and those triggered by a concussion or viral illness, respond to treatment, and symptoms can improve substantially. Cognitive FX evaluates and treats autonomic dysfunction at our dysautonomia clinic, with particular focus on cases linked to concussion and long COVID.
No at-home test can diagnose dysautonomia, but a symptom-based self-assessment quiz or checklist can flag whether your symptoms fit an autonomic pattern. A simple standing-heart-rate check can hint at orthostatic issues, but only clinician-ordered tilt-table or standing tests confirm a diagnosis.
You cannot confirm a specific type, such as POTS or orthostatic hypotension, from a quiz alone. Self-report tools only measure symptom burden and your most-affected pattern. Naming a subtype requires objective in-clinic testing that measures heart rate and blood pressure as you change position.
Common symptoms include lightheadedness, a racing heart, and fatigue that worsen on standing, plus brain fog, digestive trouble, abnormal sweating, and temperature changes. They cluster across six body systems, so they often seem unrelated. Symptoms that reliably ease when lying down point toward an autonomic cause.
No. Anxiety and dysautonomia share symptoms like palpitations and dizziness, but dysautonomia symptoms are typically posture-locked: they get worse on standing and better lying down. Anxiety symptoms are usually tied to stress, not position. If your symptoms track with standing, mention that to your doctor.
No. A quiz is an educational screening tool, not a diagnosis. It can show whether your symptoms match a recognizable autonomic pattern and help you decide whether to seek evaluation. Only a qualified clinician can diagnose dysautonomia using in-person testing and your full medical history.
Diagnosis uses objective testing, typically a tilt-table or active standing test that tracks heart rate and blood pressure as you change position, sometimes with added autonomic tests. POTS, for example, is defined by a sustained heart-rate rise of at least 30 beats per minute within 10 minutes of standing.
Many forms of dysautonomia improve with treatment, especially orthostatic types and those triggered by concussion or a viral illness like COVID. Post-viral cases often improve over weeks to months. Symptoms can be substantially reduced through targeted treatment, though outcomes vary by underlying cause.
Anemia, thyroid disease, dehydration, deconditioning, medication side effects, and anxiety can all mimic dysautonomia and are worth ruling out first. Hypermobility (hEDS) and mast-cell issues (MCAS) tend to co-occur with dysautonomia rather than replace it, so raise them with a specialist.
TYPES / "What is dysautonomia" section
What postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is and how it works
How autonomic dysfunction develops after a concussion
SYMPTOMS section
The complete list of POTS symptoms, including the ones doctors often miss
RESULTS / "what type of dysautonomia" (parent→child funnel link)
Take our dedicated POTS self-assessment quiz
"Is it dysautonomia or anxiety?" section
Why POTS is so often misdiagnosed as anxiety, and what to do about it
MIMICS section
How POTS and dysautonomia can follow a viral illness, including COVID
Blood-pressure changes after a concussion
DIAGNOSIS section
What the tilt-table test involves
How POTS is diagnosed: tests, timelines, and what to expect
A guide to autonomic testing for POTS
TREATMENT section
How our dysautonomia clinic evaluates and treats patients
How we treat POTS and dysautonomia at Cognitive FX
The science behind our treatment approach
How to choose the right clinic for POTS and dysautonomia
Whether dysautonomia and POTS can be cured
MANAGEMENT section
What triggers POTS and dysautonomia flare-ups, and how to manage them
Natural ways to manage POTS and dysautonomia symptoms
