Make The Most Of Life » Quizzes

Measuring Stress Levels

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:18:29 +0000

Stress is a commonly used term but not a well understood one. Most of the times we hear people say things like ‘Oh there maybe problems around but I can cope well. I’m not stressed.’ or ‘Getting married is a happy time, I can’t possible be stressed.’ It’s important to understand that even though you may be coping well at the moment and it maybe a happy event, the body is still experiencing the stress level. Higher the stressful events we are dealing with higher our chances of getting into stress related problems.

To understand how certain life events affect our level of stress, a scale was developed by Holmes and Rahe and is called the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. The number of “Life Change Units” that apply to events in the past year of an individual’s life are added and the final score will give a rough estimate of how stress affects health.

Life event 2	Life change units2
Death of a spouse	100
Divorce	73
Marital separation	65
Imprisonment	63
Death of a close family member	63
Personal injury or illness	53
Marriage	50
Dismissal from work	47
Marital reconciliation	45
Retirement	45
Change in health of family member	44
Pregnancy	40
Sexual difficulties	39
Gain a new family member	39
Business readjustment	39
Change in financial state	38
Change in frequency of arguments	35
Major mortgage	32
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan	30
Change in responsibilities at work	29
Child leaving home	29
Trouble with in-laws	29
Outstanding personal achievement	28
Spouse starts or stops work	26
Begin or end school	26
Change in living conditions	25
Revision of personal habits	24
Trouble with boss	23
Change in working hours or conditions	20
Change in residence	20
Change in schools	20
Change in recreation	19
Change in church activities	19
Change in social activities	18
Minor mortgage or loan	17
Change in sleeping habits	16
Change in number of family reunions	15
Change in eating habits	15
Vacation	13
Christmas	12
Minor violation of law	11

Score of 300+: At risk of illness.

Score of 150-299+: Risk of illness is moderate (reduced by 30% from the above risk).

Score 150-: Only have a slight risk of illness

A modified scale has also been developed for non-adults. Similar to the adult scale, stress points for life events in the past year are added and compared to the rough estimate of how stress affects health.

Life Event 1	Life Change Units2
Getting married	95
Unwed pregnancy	100
Death of parent	100
Acquiring a visible deformity	80
Divorce of parents	90
Fathering an unwed pregnancy	70
Becoming involved with drugs or alcohol	50
Jail sentence of parent for over one year	70
Marital separation of parents	69
Death of a brother or sister	68
Change in acceptance by peers	67
Pregnancy of unwed sister	64
Discovery of being an adopted child	63
Marriage of parent to stepparent	63
Death of a close friend	63
Having a visible congenital deformity	62
Serious illness requiring hospitalization	58
Failure of a grade in school	56
Not making an extracurricular activity	55
Hospitalization of a parent	55
Jail sentence of parent for over 30 days	53
Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend	53
Beginning to date	51
Suspension from school	50
Birth of a brother or sister	50
Increase in arguments between parents	47
Loss of job by parent	46
Outstanding personal achievement	46
Change in parent’s financial status	45
Accepted at college of choice	43
Being a senior in high school	42
Hospitalization of a sibling	41
Increased absence of parent from home	38
Brother or sister leaving home	37
Addition of third adult to family	34
Becoming a full fledged member of a church	31
Decrease in arguments between parents	27
Decrease in arguments with parents	26
Mother or father beginning work	26

Score of 300+: At risk of illness.

Score of 150-299+: Risk of illness is moderate. (reduced by || 30% from the above risk)

Score 150-: Slight risk of illness.

If your score is 300+ please seek immediate professional help. If your score is between 150-299 you may consider seeking a professional opinion. And if your score is less than 150 continue enjoying your life!

Test how assertive you are…

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:28:37 +0000

Instructions: Score 1point for every statement that you agree with.

I am quick to say yes to requests before taking the time to consider what the task involves, or the time it may take.

I have a difficult time telling family members and friends that they have done something that offends me.

Sometimes it is hard to hang up on telemarketers, or to tell salespeople in stores that I am just window shopping.

Voicing my opinion when a group is discussing an important matter is difficult, even when I think my opinion is valuable.

Having to ask for clarification when I am confused about what someone has said makes me feel incompetent.

I do not accept criticism well. I often get resentful or overreact to others who find fault in my performance or actions.

I have difficulty accepting compliments and sometimes downplay my accomplishments, appearances or abilities.

Requesting favors from others is something I do not often do.

I have trouble informing people that I have changed my mind after I have agreed to do something for them.

Returning an improperly prepared meal in a restaurant (or a defective item purchased in a store) is difficult for me.

Your score is __________________

INTERPRET YOUR SCORE

0 to 3 – A score of 0 indicates general comfort in expressing your preferences and opinions, as well as a generally high confidence level. If you checked a few items on the list, you may have difficulty asserting yourself in some specific circumstances and not in others. Look at the items again and see if there are any patterns of certain types of situations which make you uncomfortable. Work on these first, using the advice on these pages, to improve your effectiveness in communication.

4 to 6 – Scores in this range may indicate a general discomfort in requesting what you want, difficulty refusing what you don’t want, and hesitation in expressing your feelings. Use the advice on these pages as a start in becoming more assertive and persuasive in your interpersonal communication. If unassertiveness is a result of low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, or depression, you may want to personally contact me or a mental health professional.

7 to 10 – Your responses have indicated that you may have a great deal of difficulty asserting yourself in wide variety of situations. Assertiveness is not just a matter of “getting what you want”. It’s communicating effectively and learning not to give in when you don’t want to. A serious problem with lack of assertiveness and low self-esteem can lead to being taken advantage of or, in the worst case, being abused. Lack of assertiveness can be a sign of more serious personal problems. These pages can help get you started, however, if you find that low self-esteem or lack of confidence is seriously preventing you from achieving your goals, personally contact me or some other mental health professional.

Test Your Level of Self Esteem

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:31:43 +0000

Self Esteem Test

This self esteem test is extremely quick and simple, just answer TRUE or FALSE to each question (make a forced choice based on what is true almost all the time – check below how to score):

1. Other people are not better off or more fortunate than me

2. I accept myself as I am and am happy with myself

3. I enjoy socializing

4. I deserve love and respect

5. I feel valued and needed

6. I don’t need others to tell me I have done a good job

7. Being myself is important

8. I make friends easily

9. I can accept criticism without feeling put down

10. I admit my mistakes openly

11. I never hide my true feelings

12. I always speak up for myself and put my views across

13. I am a happy, carefree person

14. I don’t worry what others think of my views

15. I don’t need others’ approval to feel good

16. I don’t feel guilty about doing or saying what I want

TEST SCORE: Total number of TRUE answers you gave, EACH ONE POINT:

15-16 POINTS – YOU HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF SELF ESTEEM !

12-14 POINTS – NOT BAD BUT ROOM FOR YOU TO IMPROVE

8-11 POINTS – LOW SELF ESTEEM – IT’S HOLDING YOU BACK

BELOW 8 POINTS – YOUR ESTEEM IS DRASTICALLY LOW