SELF-ASSESSMENT

“Normally we do not so much look at things as overlook them.” - Alan Watts

Real People, Real Stories
The Stress Management 101 class was about to begin. Today's topic was Assessing Your
Stress. Angie sat quietly in the back of the classroom. “Ok class, let's start by checking
our resting heart rate”, the teacher announced. Angie's pulse was 105 beats per minute.
“Next, check the number of breaths you take per minute.” Angie counted 30 breaths.
“How long does it usually take you to fall asleep once you lie down at night?” Angie said
it usually takes about two hours. “How much of the time do you feel high levels of
stress?” Angie said she feels that way almost all the time. “Doesn't that feel unpleasant
to always feel so stressed?” the teacher questioned. Angie's reply was both sad and
common among college students, “I didn't know there was another way to feel. I
assumed this was the way college life was supposed to be, and that everyone feels this
way.”

SELF ASSESSMENT

Several years ago author Richard Carlson created a very catchy title for his best-selling

book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff…It Is All Small Stuff. He offered some important advice

for our over-stressed society. We need to step back and relax. That is great advice. The

problem is, not all stuff is small stuff. Some things are worth sweating over. The tricky

part is determining what is really important and worthy of your energy and what is the

“small stuff” that causes needless worry and decreases the quality of your life.

One of the great challenges for successful stress management is determining what it is

that causes you stress. A certain level of stress can energize and motivate you to deal

with the important issues in your life. You want to focus your energy on those things in

your life that are truly important. How do you determine what factors are causing

unnecessary stress? Is my stress level normal? These are important questions we will

answer in this chapter.

Where Are You Now?

How do you assess stress? How do you measure stress? In this chapter, you will

find a variety of tools to help assess your stress. Some of these tools are simple and fun.

Some are more scientific and complex. Each of them has been selected to increase your

understanding of stress in your life. Each of these tools will provide information that you

can use to develop a stress management program that works for you. The first step in

developing a plan is assessment. Assessing where you stand right now is critical to making

progress in achieving a balanced life. As Alan Watts stated in our chapter quote,
“Normally we do not so much look at things as overlook them.” This quote contains real

truth. You may be so busy living your life that you don't take time to stop and assess. You

just keep doing what you are doing.

There is not one best tool for assessing stress, in part because reactions to events

vary from person to person. What absolutely frazzles one person may excite

and positively challenge another. Research supports the idea that it is not the actual

stress that matters most, but our ability to control how we perceive and react to the

situation that contributed to the stress. External events do not cause stress; how we

perceive and cope with them does.

It is important to know that the information you gain from the assessments in this

chapter is for you to take and use as it seems relevant to you and your life. These

assessments and surveys are not intended to be diagnostic, but only to guide you in

understanding yourself better. Taken together you will discover an overall picture of your

current stress status. This will help you decide where you want to go and how you can get

there.

Begin with a few simple, yet informative, measures of potential stress. Using the Assess

Stress Table, fill in your response for each item based on the instructions following the

table.

Assess Stress Table

Resting Heart Rate ______ Beats per minute

Breathing Pattern _______ Abdomen _______Chest _______ Both

Respiration Rate ______ Breaths per minute

Stress-o-meter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Resting Heart Rate

Check your resting heart rate (pulse) after you have been sitting or relaxing for a period

of time. You will need a watch or clock with a second hand (or digital seconds). First, find

your pulse. You can find your radial pulse on the thumb side of your wrist or

your carotid pulse on your neck just under the jaw. For sixty seconds count the number
of beats that you feel. Place this number in the first line of the Assess Stress Table.

Breathing Pattern

Next, find a chair that has a back to it. Sit in the chair so your back is primarily straight

up and down against the back of the chair. Place one hand on your abdomen with your

palm covering your navel. Place your other hand on the upper part of your chest with the

palm of that hand just above the heart. For a minute or two, become very aware of your

breathing. While sitting straight up, notice your breath as it goes in and comes back out.

Become aware of your hands as you breathe in and out. Which one seems to move more?

Is it your abdominal hand or your chest hand? Or do they both move equally?

Try this second technique to see if you get the same results. First, breathe out and empty

your lungs. Count to three as you inhale deeply. Now, hold it. Did your shoulders go up?

Did you feel like the air filled the upper part of your lungs? If so, you probably lean

toward chest breathing. If you are a diaphragmatic breather, you would feel your

abdominal area expand, your belt tighten, and fullness in the lower part of your lungs and

chest. Record your results on the Assess Your Stress Table.

Respiration Rate

Now, for about a minute, become aware of your breathing again. This time, just count

how many natural, effortless breaths you take in a minute. Be sure to breathe as normally

and naturally as possible. Each inhalation and exhalation cycle is considered one breath.

The number of breathes in one minute is your respiration rate. Record the number of

breaths you take per minute in the Assess Your Stress table.

Stress-o-meter

Another self-assessment is the Stress-o-meter. Think back over the last month of your

life. Include all of your waking moments, as you think back. Give yourself a rating

according to the following scale. A score of “1” would indicate that you feel your life has

been relatively stress-free during that period. You have felt blissful, calm, peaceful and

serene at all times. You have been able to adapt and “flow” with situations as they arise.

A “10” score would mean that you felt very high anxiety most of the time. You may have

had periods bordering on neurosis, suicidal, or very depressed feelings. A score of 10

would mean that this was a month packed with high levels of stress.

Considering the last month as one single period of time, it is most likely that you would

rank yourself somewhere between these two extremes. If you were to average the month

(we all have highs and lows), what number would you give yourself on this scale from 1 to

10? Make a note of this number on the Assess Your Stress Table. We will refer to this

number again later.

Assess Your Stress Results

Many factors are involved in determining a general level of stress. A couple physiological

measures that relate to increased stress are increased heart rate and increased

respiration rate. While there are many factors that affect these rates, you will learn in

chapter three why the stress response can increase your pulse and respiration rates. The

average pulse rate for an adult is approximately 70-80 beats per minute. The average

respiration rate is around 12-16 breaths per minute. A faster heart beat or breathing rate

might be an indicator of higher than desired stress levels.

Were you primarily a chest breather or an abdominal breather? Many of us are primarily

chest, or thoracic, breathers. Chest breathers tend to take shallower breathes.

Diaphragmatic, or abdominal, breathing involves the abdominal muscles to facilitate

deeper breathing. This allows you to take in more oxygen with each breath. Later you will

learn more about why deep breathing is effective as an important relaxation technique.

Your perception of stress primarily determines how your body responds. The

Stress-o-meter increases your awareness of the level of stress you perceive in your life.

When we exercise we can follow a perceived exertion scale that will give us some idea of

how hard we are exercising. We can determine our intensity level. Similarly, we can use

the Stress-o-meter to assess our general levels of perceived stress over the past month.

You will learn later in the book how your perception of stress relates to your health and

your physiological responses. Your body responds the same, whether the stress is real or

imagined, so your perception becomes your reality.

Now, look back over your results recorded in the Assess Your Stress Table. What does this

information tell you about your stress level?

Research Highlight - Stress Seems to Block Deep Sleep
Stress may disrupt the natural rhythms of the body's nervous system during various
stages of sleep, according to a University of Pittsburgh study in the journal
Psychosomatic Medicine. This study found stressed sleepers wake up more often while
they are sleeping and have fewer episodes of deep sleep. The link between daytime
stress and restless sleep is well established, but scientists are still investigating the
exact ways that stress affects sleep.
Researchers monitored the heart rates of 59 healthy undergraduate students while they
slept. Heart rate variations can provide clues about the activity of the autonomic
nervous system, which controls the function of organs such as the heart and lungs. To
trigger stress during sleep, the researchers told half of the students they would have to
deliver a 15-minute speech when they woke up. The topics would be chosen for them
upon awakening, the students were told.
The researchers detected significant heart rate variations between the stressed and non-
stressed students as they slept. The stressed group had changes in heart rate patterns
during REM, or rapid-eye-movement, sleep - the sleep phase when dreaming occurs -
and non-REM sleep. The heart rate variability patterns detected in the stressed students
were similar to those seen in people with insomnia, the study revealed, suggesting
similar pathways of nervous system disruption. (University of Pittsburgh, news
release, Feb. 5, 2004)

Symptoms of Stress
How frequently do you find yourself experiencing such problems as headaches,
problems going to sleep or staying asleep, unexplained muscle pain, jaw pain,
uncontrolled anger, and frustration? Using the table below, assess the frequency that
you experience these common symptoms of stress.

Frequency of symptoms
Almost all
Symptoms day, every Once or Every night 2-3 times per Once a Once a
day twice daily or day week week month Never

Headaches

Tense
muscles, sore
neck and back

Fatigue

Anxiety, worry,
phobias

Difficulty falling
asleep

Irritability

Insomnia
 Bouts of
anger/hostility

Boredom,
depression

Eating too
much or too
little
Diarrhea,
cramps, gas,
constipation

Restlessness,
itching, tics

The more often you experience these symptoms of stress, the more likely stress is having

a negative impact on your life. Like Angie in our opening vignette, you may be so used to

feeling a certain way that you assume this is normal. Look back over the Symptoms of

Stress Table. Are there symptoms of stress that you would like to eliminate or change? In

later chapters you will learn proven strategies to help eliminate the negative symptoms of

stress.

FYI - Lesson From the Titanic

The blockbuster movie Titanic has a health lesson for us all. The captain of that mighty

ship was warned six separate times to slow down, change course and take the southern

route because icebergs had been sighted. But, he ignored all six specific warnings, lulled

into complacency of believing that the ship was unsinkable. The lesson is listen to your

body when it sends you signals. Symptoms and changes are warnings that you should

slow down, change course, or take another route.

Perceived Stress Scale

A more precise measure of personal stress can be determined by using a variety of

instruments that have been designed to help measure individual stress levels. The first of

these is called the Perceived Stress Scale

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a classic stress assessment instrument. This tool, while

originally developed in 1983, remains a popular choice for helping us understand how

different situations affect our feelings and our perceived stress. The questions in this

scale ask about your feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, you will

be asked to indicate how often you felt or thought a certain way. Although some of the
questions are similar, there are differences between them and you should treat each one

as a separate question. The best approach is to answer fairly quickly. That is, don't try to

count up the number of times you felt a particular way; rather indicate the alternative

that seems like a reasonable estimate.

For each question choose from the following alternatives:
0 - never
1 - almost never
2 - sometimes
3 - fairly often
4 - very often
____ 1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that
happened unexpectedly?
_____ 2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the
important things in your life?
_____ 3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and stressed?
_____ 4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle
your personal problems?
_____ 5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?
_____ 6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the
things that you had to do?
_____ 7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your
life?
_____ 8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?
_____ 9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that
happened that were outside of your control?
_____ 10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high
that you could not overcome them?

Figuring your PSS score:

You can determine your PSS score by following these directions:

First, reverse your scores for questions 4, 5, 7, & 8. On these 4 questions, change the

scores like this: 0 = 4, 1 = 3, 2 = 2, 3 = 1, 4 = 0.

Now add up your scores for each item to get a total. My total score is ______.

Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher

perceived stress.

Scores ranging from 0-13 would be considered low stress.

Scores ranging from 14-26 would be considered moderate stress.

Scores ranging from 27-40 would be considered high perceived stress.

The Perceived Stress Scale is interesting and important because your perception of what

is happening in your life is most important. Consider the idea that two students, John and

Dan, could have the exact same events and experiences in their lives for the past month.

Depending on their perception, John's total score could put him in the low stress category
and Dan's total score could put him in the high stress category. Consider the words of

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”

The Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences

Another useful scale used to measure stress levels in a different way is called The

Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE). The ICSRLE was designed

to identify individual exposure to sources of stress or hassles and allow for an

identification of the extent to which those stressors are experienced over the past month.

The ICSRLE was developed uniquely for college students. As you know, the sources of

stress in a university environment can be unique and different from other settings.

What do college students typically perceive to be the major sources of stress? The ICSRLE

is helpful in assessing the major sources of stress and in identifying individual exposure to

sources of stress or hassles. This inventory also allows for an identification of the extent

to which those stressors are experienced over the past month.

The following is a list of experiences which many students have some time or other.

Please indicate for each experience how much it has been a part of your life over the past

month. Mark your answers according to the following guide:

Intensity of Experience over the Past Month

0 = not at all part of my life
1 = only slightly part of my life
2 = distinctly part of my life
3 = very much part of my life
____1. Conflicts with boyfriend's/girlfriend's/spouse's family
____2. Being let down or disappointed by friends
____3. Conflict with professor(s)
____4. Social rejection
____5. Too many things to do at once
____6. Being taken for granted
____7. Financial conflicts with family members
____8. Having your trust betrayed by a friend
____9. Separation from people you care about
____10. Having your contributions overlooked
____11. Struggling to meet your own academic standards
____12. Being taken advantage of
____13. Not enough leisure time
____14. Struggling to meet the academic standards of others
____15. A lot of responsibilities
____16. Dissatisfaction with school
____17. Decisions about intimate relationship(s)
____18. Not enough time to meet your obligations
____19. Dissatisfaction with your mathematical ability
____20. Important decisions about your future career
____21. Financial burdens
____22. Dissatisfaction with your reading ability
____23. Important decisions about your education
____24. Loneliness
____25. Lower grades than you hoped for
____26. Conflict with teaching assistant(s)
____27. Not enough time for sleep
____28. Conflicts with your family
____29. Heavy demands from extracurricular activities
____30. Finding courses too demanding
____31. Conflicts with friends
____32. Hard effort to get ahead
____33. Poor health of a friend
____34. Disliking your studies
____35. Getting “ripped off” or cheated in the purchase of services
____36. Social conflicts over smoking
____37. Difficulties with transportation
____38. Disliking fellow student(s)
____39. Conflicts with boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse
____40. Dissatisfaction with your ability at written expression
____41. Interruptions of your school work
____42. Social isolation
____43. Long waits to get service (e.g., at banks, stores, etc.)
____44. Being ignored
____45. Dissatisfaction with your physical appearance
____46. Finding course(s) uninteresting
____47. Gossip concerning someone you care about
____48. Failing to get expected job
____49. Dissatisfaction with your athletic skills

Scoring the ICSRLE

Add your total points: ________

Your score on the ICSRLE can range from 0 to 147. Higher scores indicate higher levels of

exposure to hassles. Focus on two key outcomes from your results. First, you can

determine your current level of stress by adding your score for each hassle and getting a

total. Second, you can discover which of the hassles play a greater part in your life.

Higher scored items that you rated with a 3 indicate those stressors are more of an issue

for you.

The Ardell Wellness Stress Test

Don Ardell developed a stress assessment that is unique in its holistic approach to stress.

In chapter one, you learned about the importance of incorporating all dimensions of

health in your understanding of stress. The Ardell Wellness Stress Test incorporates

physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social aspects of health for a balanced

assessment.

Rate your satisfaction with each of the following items by using this scale:
+ 3 = Ecstatic -1 = Mildly disappointed

+ 2 = Very happy - 2 = Very disappointed

+ 1 = Mildly happy - 3 = Completely dismayed

0 = Indifferent

_____ 1. Choice of career

_____ 2. Present job/ business/ school

_____ 3. Marital status

_____ 4. Primary relationships

_____ 5. Capacity to have fun

_____ 6. Amount of fun experienced in last month

_____ 7. Financial prospects

_____ 8. Current income level

_____ 9. Spirituality

_____ 10. Level of self-esteem

_____ 11. Prospects for having impact on those who know you and possibly others

_____ 12. Sex life

_____ 13. Body, how it looks and performs

_____ 14. Home life

_____ 15. Life skills and knowledge of issues and facts unrelated to your job or profession

_____ 16. Learned stress management capacities

_____ 17. Nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and choices

_____ 18. Ability to recover from disappointment, hurts, setbacks, and tragedies

_____ 19. Confidence that you currently are, or will in the future be, reasonably close to

your highest potential

_____ 20. Achievement of a rounded or balanced quality in your life

_____ 21. Sense that life for you is on an upward curve, getting better and fuller all the

time

_____ 22. Level of participation in issues and concerns beyond your immediate interests

_____ 23. Choice whether to parent or not and with the consequences or results of that
choice

_____ 24. Role in some kind of network of friends, relatives, and/or others about whom

you care deeply and who reciprocate that commitment to you

_____ 25. Emotional acceptance of the inescapable reality of aging

Total ______

Ardell Wellness Stress Test Interpretation

+ 51 to + 75 You are a self-actualized person, nearly immune from the ravages of stress.

There are few, if any, challenges likely to untrack you from a sense of near total well-

being.

+ 25 to + 50 You have mastered the wellness approach to life and have the capacity to

deal creatively and efficiently with events and circumstances.

+ 1 to + 24 You are a wellness-oriented person, with an ability to prosper as a whole

person, but you should give a bit more attention to optimal health concepts and skill

building.

0 to - 24 You are a candidate for additional training in how to deal with stress. A sudden

increase in potentially negative events and circumstances could cause a severe emotional

setback.

- 25 to - 50 You are a candidate for counseling. You are either too pessimistic or have

severe problems in dealing with stress.

- 51 to - 75 You are a candidate for major psychological care with virtually no capacity for

coping with life's problems.

(Adapted from High Level Wellness: An Alternative to Doc, Drugs and Disease by Don

Ardell)

Look back at the items in the Ardell Wellness Stress Test. Identify which items related

more to physical health, to mental health, to emotional health, to spiritual health, and to

social health. Do you see any patterns develop? For instance, are more areas of

disappointment related to physical health than to social health? Remember, for holistic

health we are seeking a balance in all dimensions of health.

Student Stress Scale

 This chapter offers a variety of stress assessment tools to assist you in assessing

stress from several different perspectives. The Student Stress Scale focuses

on events that may occur in the life of a student to offer you a different perspective for

evaluating stress. The Student Stress Scale is an adaptation for college students of the

Life Events Scale developed originally by Holmes and Rahe. This popular stress assessment

measured the amount of change, using Life Change Units, a person was required to adapt

to in the previous year. It was designed to predict the likelihood of disease and illness

following exposure to stressful life events. Each life event is given a score that indicates

the amount of readjustment a person has to make as a result of change. Some studies

have found that people with serious illnesses tend to have higher scores on similar

assessments.

For each event that occurred in your life within the past year, record the
corresponding score. If an event occurred more than once, multiply the score for that
event by the number of times the event occurred and record that score. Total all the
scores.
Life Event Mean Value
1. Death of a close family member 100
2. Death of a close friend 73
3. Divorce of parents 65
4. Jail term 63
5. Major personal injury or illness 63
6. Marriage 58
7. Getting fired from a job 50
8. Failing an important course 47
9. Change in the health of a family member 45
10. Pregnancy 45
11. Sex problems 44
12. Serious argument with a close friend 40
13. Change in financial status 39
14. Change of academic major 39
15. Trouble with parents 39
16. New girlfriend or boyfriend 37
17. Increase in workload at school 37
18. Outstanding personal achievement 36
19. First quarter/semester in college 36
20. Change in living conditions 31
 21. Serious argument with an instructor 30
22. Getting lower grades than expected 29
23. Change in sleeping habits 29
24. Change in social activities 29
25. Change in eating habits 28
26. Chronic car trouble 26
27. Change in number of family get-togethers 26
28. Too many missed classes 25
29. Changing colleges 24
30. Dropping more than one class 23
31. Minor traffic violations 20

Total Stress Score ________

Score Interpretation:

Researchers determined that if your total score is:

300 or more - statistically you stand an almost 80 percent chance of getting sick in the

near future.

150 to 299 - you have a 50-50 chance of experiencing a serious health change within two

years.

149 or less - you have about a 30 percent chance of a serious health change.

This scale indicates that change in one's life requires an effort to adapt and then an effort

to regain stability. Stress is a natural by product of adapting and then regaining

internal homeostasis. Take note that this assessment considers only the events that

occur, not individual perception of these events in life. Perception is a critical part of the

ultimate stress experience, so while the Student Stress Scale has value in increasing

awareness of potential stress-producing events, ultimately individual perception of the

event is an important variable.

Tombstone Test

When all is said and done, one of the most important assessments may be the Tombstone

Test. How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered for being a

workaholic? Do you want to be remembered as the one who always won the argument? Do

you want to be remembered for making more money than your neighbor? Do you want to

be the one who never forgave someone who wronged you? Or, do you want to be

remembered as a good parent, spouse, and friend? Do you want to be remembered as

someone who was whole and balanced in body, mind, and spirit? Do you want to be

remembered for the service you provided to those who needed help?

Take a few minutes right now to write down how you want to be remembered. What do

want others to say and think about you when your life is over? Make a list of the qualities

and characteristics you want to be remembered for. Are you living your life in a way that

demonstrates the qualities and characteristics you value?

The choices you make every single day determine to a large extent the stress you

experience. Your daily work, which at times can feel like drudgery, can actually become

a significant stress managing mechanism when you view your work as part of

your contribution to bigger priorities. Thinking about today, this minute, the task at hand

in a positive manner can bring peace and contentment. There is a story about two people

laying bricks. A man passing by asks, “What are you doing?” The first worker answers,

“Laying bricks.” The other worker answers, “Building a cathedral.”

Assess what is most important in your life. When your choices are guided by the values

and goals that are most important to you, your life can be full and active, yet not

stressful. Decide how you want to be remembered - and then live your life so that

happens.

Daily Stress Log

The final activity in this chapter is the Daily Stress Log. Chances are many of you have

completed a Food Diary at some time. The purpose of the food diary is to record

everything you eat to increase your awareness of what you are eating. The information

you enter in your diary can be analyzed for its calorie level and nutritional content. This

information helps you evaluate your diet.

The Daily Stress Log serves the same purpose only relating to your stress. For several

days, you will make a note of any and all activities that put a strain on energy and time,

trigger anger or anxiety, or precipitate a negative physical response. You can also note

your reactions to these stressful events.

When you have completed a daily log for a few days, review the log and identify 2 or 3

stressful events or activities that you can modify or eliminate. It has been said that
awareness is half the battle. As you keep track of all of the events that happen during a

day, and you notice patterns in which you find yourself getting more stressed, you can

begin to take steps to make adjustments in those damaging patterns. The following is an

example of a Daily Stress Log.

Daily Stress Log

Name:___________________________ Date:__________________

Source of Tension Coping

Time ....Place....
Stress level* strategy.....................

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /

/ / / / /
/ / / / /

*Tension level .........................1 = Slight 2 = Moderate 3 = Strong 4 = Intense

Major source of stress today: ______________________________

Assessment of how you managed stress today: ________________________

______________________________________________________________

The Daily Stress Log can be a real eye-opener in helping you become aware of triggers of

stress throughout your day. Watch for patterns that develop. Do you notice that your

stress level rises every time your roommate's boyfriend comes over and plops himself

down in your favorite chair? Do you find that you always feel stressed after you and your

friend consume an entire family-sized pizza? Do you notice that the days that seemed

filled with stress and the days you seem least able to cope with the stressors that occur

are the days after your stay up late enjoying the all-you-can-drink specials at the bar?

Take a moment to summarize the results of each of the self-assessments in this chapter in

the table below. Circle either “High” or “Low” according how much each assessment

indicates high or low levels of stress for you. For example, a higher resting heart rate

may indicate higher stress levels; chest breathing rather than stomach breathing may

indicate higher stress levels; increased number of breaths per minute might indicate

higher stress levels. If you are consistently circling the “High” indicator, extra effort in

the chapters of this book may be helpful in reducing the potentially harmful effects of

stress.

Personal Self Assessment Summary

# of Stress Ardell Student
Breathing: breaths -o- Symptoms Stress Stress
RHR: stomach or per meter: of Stress PSS ICSRLE Test Scale
#/minute chest minute 1-10 Score Score Score Score Score

Your Score

Indicator of High High High High High High High High High

higher or

lower levels Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low

of stress
 Conclusion

Assessing stress is a complex and challenging process. In this chapter you have had the

opportunity to assess your stress from many different perspectives. Look back over each

of the assessment surveys and tools. You will see that these tools measured stress from a

variety of perspectives including:

 Physiological indicators of stress

 Your perception of what is happening in your life

 Sources of stress and frequency of hassles

 Your level of satisfaction with events in your life

 Type of life events you have experienced

The real impact of this chapter is in what you do with the information you learned about

yourself. It is like putting a puzzle together. Each of the assessments is like a piece of the

puzzle. When you put all the pieces together you have a complete picture. Stress

Management for Life will provide you with all the tools and information you need

to develop a plan that will help reduce stress and enhance the quality of your life.

Key Points

 Assessment is the first important step in developing a plan to reduce and

manage stress.

 Stress can trigger physiological changes like increased pulse and

increased respiration rate.

 Symptoms of stress can include headache, muscle tension, insomnia and

a host of other warning signs.

 Perception is key when assessing stress. The same situation can elicit a

very different stress response in different individuals due to the

individual's perception of the experience.

 Frequency of exposure to different stressors and hassles can be another

way to measure stress.

 For a balanced picture of stress in your life, consider all dimensions of

health, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social.

 A daily stress log can be a valuable tool for increasing your awareness of

stress in your life.

 No single survey or tool can tell the whole picture when it comes to

assessing stress. Consider the results from all the assessments to gain a

better understanding of your personal stress level.