Stress greatly influences one's health. It can interfere with concentration, sleep, and depending on how well you deal with stress, it can negatively affect your relationships with friends, family, teachers and/or coworkers. The following is a questionairre meant to show you the amount of stress you experience and your vulnerability to the negative aspects thereof. It is "The Susceptibility Scale of the Stress Audit" created by Lyle H. Miller, Alma Dell Smith, & Larry Rothstein of Boston University Medical Center.
Do you:
1. Eat at least one hot, balanced meal a day?
2. Have seven hours of sleep at least four nights a week?
3. Give and receive affection frequently?
4. Have a relative within 50 miles(80 km) on whom you can rely?
5. Exercise to a perspiration at least twice a week?
6. Smoke fewer than 10 cigarettes a day? (Hopefully, you don't smoke any.)
7. Drink alchohol less than 5 times a week?
8. Keep within the appropriate weight for your height?
9. Have an adequate income for you needs?
10. Get strength from religious, philosophical, or some other deeply held beliefs?
11. Regularly attend social gatherings?
12. Have a network of friends and acquaintances?
13. Have a close friend to confide in?
14. Have good health?
15. Express feelings of anger or worry?
16. Have regular domestic discussions with those you live with?
17. Do something for fun at least once a week?
18. Organize your time effectively and have some quiet time to yourself every day?
19. Drink fewer than three cups of caffeine (tea, coffee, or soda) a day?
20. Have an optimistic outlook on life?
Scoring
Yes/Always - 1
Probably/Usually - 2
I suppose/It depends - 3
Rarely/Not a lot - 4
No/Never - 5
Add up your score. Less than 50 total means you are probably good at coping with stress. A higher score shows more vulnerability to stress. Please, answer according to how you really feel, not just to get a good score. Otherwise, it won't really help you.
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Yay! I'm actually pretty good! The only ones I didn't score well on were the sleep and doing something fun every week.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you scored well!
ReplyDeleteSleep is quite important, but it can be really hard to get to bed at a reasonable hour. It can be next to impossible if you work a job, have homework, have children, younger siblings, chores to do, or anything of that nature. If at all possible, depending on your situation, see if you can try to extend your sleep schedule. It takes your body a while to adjust its circadian rhythm, so don't try to go to bed an entire hour earlier than you usually would (unless of course, you're really tired anyways) otherwise, you won't feel tired, and if you are anything like me, might end up reading a book into the odd hours of the night. Instead, go slow. For example, try going to bed ten minutes earlier three nights in a row. Then go to bed twenty minutes earlier three nights in a row. Keep working at this until you have reached what you believe to be a reasonable amount of sleep each night.
As to doing something fun, this is also schedule dependent. Perhaps you could spontaneously create a deliciously fantastic (but healthy) dessert (preferably one made with whole wheat flour - if it requires such, sweetened with organic sweeteners such as honey, agave nectar - which is nicely low glycemic, or maple syrup, and with dark chocolate...Mmmm...and send me some.)
Or, go on a walk, a bike ride (if possible), get a campfire permit and have one some night, or something else pleasant that fits into your schedule. And really, it all depends upon what is fun for you.
I think the lost art of the "casual drop in" reflects a lifestyle change in this generation missing the benefits of a slower pace of life that my parents enjoyed with their friends. I think cultivating life habits and relationships that allow for you to "drop in" on a friend reflects a healthier level of freedom from stress than most people enjoy nowadays.
ReplyDeleteOf course the ability to tell that "persona non grata" they are not welcome to drop in without calling or perhaps, not at all, is an important skill to developing lower stress levels. But that is tomorrows topic!
I think the ability to make a casual drop-in reflects as many as 8 of those items in your questionnaire!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the fast-paced lifestyle we have today contributes greatly to the amount of stress we deal with, and the attitudes that go along with allowing people to casually drop by, or yourself casually dropping by are very healthy.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how all our modern conveniences, rather than giving us a slower paced lifestyle by doing so much work for us merely prompt us to do more, drive further and faster to work or school, and keep us from relaxing, eating, and exercising as we should.
By the way, did you take the quiz, and if so, did you score well?
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