Philippine Mental Health Association – CORDILLERA CHAPTER INC.

Mental Health Facts

Suicide Awareness

Suicidal thoughts, like mental illnesses, can strike someone at any age, irrespective of gender or background. Suicide is often the product of an unresolved mental health issue. Suicidal thoughts, while ...

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Stress

HOW STRESSED ARE YOU? (Try this stress test.)

Instruction: Here are some questions which will reflect how stressed you are in your daily life – tick each one in the column which most clearly reflects how true this is for you, and then add up your scores at the bottom.

In the past few months, how often have you: Often Sometimes Seldom Never
1. Lost your appetite?        
2. Found yourself hungry all the time or constantly nibbling at snack food?        
3. Felt sick or nauseated after eating? Or had erratic bowel functions like diarrhea & constipation?        
4. Bitten your nails or tapped your fingers? Or touched your nose, hair & other body parts?        
5. Felt backaches? Feeling unusually tired or exhausted? Or breathless or tight-chested when not exerting?        
6. Found yourself irritable, angry or upset?        
7. Felt you have to work extra hard or late?        
8. Been impatient or unable to wait?        
9. Tried to win in arguments? Tried hard to win in sports, etc?        
10. Been apathetic (as if nothing matters) or bored?        
11. Struggled hard for perfection?        
12. Felt that you don?t have enough time for your family?        
13. Found it difficult to sleep? Or found yourself oversleeping? Or found yourself waking up in the middle of the night? Or used sleeping pills?        
14. Used alcohol when under pressure?        
15. Felt trapped by your lifestyle?        
16. Found you are too busy to do things you enjoy doing? Or lost interest and energy in your hobbies or activities you previously enjoyed?        
17. Found it hard to make decisions? Or found it hard to concentrate?        
18. Experienced guilt feelings, shame or sadness?        
19. Worried about the future? Or had fear of being injured?        
20. Suffered from headaches, or dizziness or fainting spells?        
21. Found yourself doubting other people’s motives?        
22. Found it difficult to laugh or smile?        
23. Used cigarettes when under pressure?        
Now add up the number of ticks in each column
TOTAL TICKS
       
Then multiply each column by x 3 x 2 x 1 x 0
TOTAL        
Now add the four columns together

GRAND TOTAL

       

INTERPRETATION:

Above 45

Stress level is very high, you maybe a workaholic and
you may be suffering from physical effects of stress.

35 – 44

Stress level is still high. There are some areas in your life
you need to work on in order to enjoy life and be less stressed.
If you are either in one of these categories, you may feel too
stressed to recognize what is happening or to take action.

26 – 34

Stress level is moderate but you could do well with a little more
relaxation at times

25 and below

Optimum stress or you show few signs of stress. However, it is
worth learning how to relax so that you build your energy
reserves for when you need them.

 

WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress is a dynamic state of imbalance in response to demands, threats, unmet needs, or lack of resources. It can be both positive and negative. Positive stress can increase motivation, learning, development of creativity, and satisfaction. On the other hand, stress becomes negative or DISTRESS when it interferes with our goal-directed behaviors.

Although a certain amount of stress is known to be good for us, scientific findings have proven that too much and sustained exposure to stress can be detrimental to ones health and relationships. It may be worth mentioning that 75 – 90% of patients visit their physicians because of stress-related disorders. Moreover, according to the World Health Organization by the year 2020, five of the top ten medical problems worldwide will be stress-related. In terms of its effect in our society, it was noted that stress is a major cause of low productivity, high absenteeism, bad judgment, misallocation of resources and poor morale.

WHAT IS STRESS MANAGEMENT?

Stress management means taking charge, directing and controlling our response to stressors, thereby modifying the over- all stress.

HOW CAN I COPE WITH STRESS?

Knowing how to cope with stress does not come naturally to most of us. We have to learn it like any other skills. It is not simple. It’s a continuous process.