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Created by two American psychologists, take a look
at this scale of 43 life events and you will learn how much obvious
stress you have in your life. Each event has a corresponding score
associated with it, according to the degree of stress that comes as the
result of that activity.
Below are the top 10 most stressful life events according to
the scale:
- Death of a partner
- Divorce
- Separation from partner
- Imprisonment
- Death of a close family member
- Personal illness or injury
- Marriage
- Dismissal from work
- Change of job
- Retirement
(Holmes and Rahe (1967) 'The social readjustment rating
scale' Psychosomatic Medicine, 11: 213-18.)
WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF STRESS?
When you suffer from stress, you
experience a variety of symptoms. These symptoms each fall into four
categories:
- behavioral (the things you do)
- physical (your body's
response)
- emotional (what you feel)
- psychological (your personal
way of thinking.)
Take a look below at the various lists of stresses and symptoms
and then compare those with how you are feeling at this moment.
Note how many of the symptoms you currently have and/or often
experience. Next, look for your score at the end of this self-test and
you will discover your personal stress rating.
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Physical Symptoms
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Emotional Symptoms
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- tightness
in chest
- chest
pain and/or palpitations
- indigestion
- breathlessness
- nausea
- muscle
twitches
- aches
and pains
- headaches
- skin
conditions
- recurrence
of previous illnesses/allergies
- constipation/diarrhea
- weight
loss or weight gain
- change
in menstrual cycle for women
- sleep
problems/tiredness
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- mood
swings
- feeling
anxious
- feeling
tense
- feelings
of anger
- feeling
guilty
- feelings
of shame
- having
no enthusiasm
- becoming
more cynical
- feeling
out of control
- feeling
helpless
- decrease
in confidence/self-esteem
- poor
concentration
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Behavioral Symptoms
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Psychological Symptoms and Negative Thoughts
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- drop
in work performance
- more
inclined to become accident-prone
- drinking
and smoking more
- overeating/loss
of appetite
- change
in sleeping patterns
- poor
time management
- too
busy to relax
- withdrawing
from family and friends
- loss
of interest in sex
- poor
judgment
- inability
to express feelings
- over-reacting
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- 'I
am a failure'
- 'I
should be able to cope'
- 'why
is everyone getting at me?'
- 'no
one understands'
- 'I
don't know what to do'
- 'I
can't cope'
- 'what's
the point?'
- 'I
don't seem to be able to get on top of things'
- 'I
keep forgetting where I put things'
- loss
of judgment
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How to Score Your Test
Add up your score to check how stressed you
are. 0 – 4 symptoms: You are unlikely to be stressed. 5 –
8 symptoms: You are experiencing a mild form of stress and are not
coping as well as you can. You need to make some changes. 9 – 12
symptoms: You are experiencing a moderate degree of stress. You need
to make major changes to your life. 13 or more symptoms: You need
to take urgent action to reduce your stress levels. The higher your
score the more urgent is the need for action. Stress is impossible to
eliminate totally from life. However, if we recognize what stresses us,
together with how our symptoms show themselves, we can take action to
minimize or reduce any negative effects.
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