Take the Stress Test

I’ve always been a little amped. It’s just part of my personality and I’ve learned how to use it to my benefit. When my over anxious energy is concentrated on a particular task, I move forward with super hero velocity. I can accomplish anything. Some stress is good. It can actually drive you and fuel you towards finishing goals and tasks.

As with all things, too much stress can be bad. Very, very bad. I was feeling particularly overwhelmed a little over a decade ago and couldn’t figure out exactly why. I was happy. Really happy for the first time in a long time. But I was still feeling completely overcome, seemingly by nothing. Almost like if someone was holding me too tightly.

A friend told me about the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. They had a copy in their backpack, printed on a bookmark. It was eye opening. To keep it simple, it basically gives a number value to common life happenings. The higher on the stress scale, the higher the number. You check off each box that you have recently experienced, times the number of happenings in the past year, then add up the numbers and compare to the stress chart.

It’s a great way to keep yourself in check, know if you are overstressed and need to decompress. It’s also a good way to sort through what may be causing unknown stress and irritation, so you can knock out those issues, learn to unzip and ride the fine line of motivational stress.

 

How To Use The Test Below

Super Easy! I put everything together in a cute little chart for ease of use... let's see how stressed you are! To use the chart, beside each Life Event you've experienced in the past year, put the number of times you've experienced that particular Life Event in the last full calendar year. 

 

So for example, if I experienced 1 pregnancy in the past 12 months, I will put a 1 in the box beside "Pregnancy" in the "x's 1 Year" category.  Press enter and everything will add up for you automatically! Keep going down the entire list, marking the number of times beside each Life Event you've experienced in the last year. You can leave boxes that haven't happened to you in the last year, blank. At the end of the test, you'll find "The Results" box to compare your number. Easy breezy... now let's get started...