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Olpin/Hesson, Stress Management for Life, 5e

Chapter 2: Self-Assessment

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Icebreaker

What are the signs you are experiencing stress?

Tense neck and shoulders

Difficulty falling asleep

Elevated heart rate

Difficulty concentrating

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Each person has different symptoms that indicate they are experiencing stress. What are your symptoms of stress?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

2.1 Assess your current level of stress from a variety of perspectives.

2.2 Explain the physiological and psychological indicators of stress.

2.3 Evaluate the impact of stress on the quality of your life.

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Stress: Self-Assessment

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How is Stress Measured?

Self-Assessment

Resting Heart Rate

Breathing Pattern

Respiration Rate

Stress-o-Meter

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When you begin to understand how stress occurs in your life, you can begin to develop a stress management plan that works for you.

The first step in developing a stress management plan is an assessment. An assessment will help you develop an overall picture of your stress patterns and help you decide how to respond to those things that cause stress in your life.

The first assessment tool used is called Assess Your Stress, which focuses on physiological indicators of stress and your subjective rating of stress.

Question 1

A normal resting pulse rate is 90 to 100 beats per minute.

True

False

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Assess Your Stress

Increased heart rate

Higher-than-desired rate might indicate stress

Increased respiration rate

Deep breathing allows more oxygen to enter the nervous system, slowing down the nervous system.

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Increases in heart rate and respiration rate are associated with increased stress.

The pulse rate for an average adult ranges between 50 and 100 beats per minute. The average heart rate is approximately 65 - 80 beats per minute. Faster rates might indicate higher levels of stress.

Chest breathing is caused by chronic activation of the stress response. Learn to use diaphragmatic, or abdominal, breathing. This requires use of abdominal muscles to enable deeper breathing. As you take in more oxygen with each breath, the nervous system slows, which is a directly opposite response to the stress response.

Symptoms of Stress

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

Grinding teeth, clenching jaw during sleep

Difficulty concentrating

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Figure 2.2 lists a variety of symptoms of stress. The form is an activity students can do to help evaluate how often they experience the various symptoms. The more often you experience these symptoms of stress, the more likely it is that stress is affecting your life. If you don’t recognize when stress affects you, you cannot work to manage the stress.

Perceived Stress Scale

This self-assessment helps us understand how different situations affect perceived stress.

This scales your perception of the most important happenings in your life.

Perceived Stress Scale Scoring:

Scores of 0 – 13 indicate low perceived stress.

Scores of 14 – 26 indicate moderate perceived stress.

Score over 27 indicate high perceived stress.

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The Perceived Stress Scale is a 10-question assessment that helps identify how you feel about important life events. Take the assessment quickly, and don’t overthink your responses. Based on the formula for determining your total score, you will have low, moderate, or high perceived stress levels.

The formula for determining your score requires you to reverse your scores for questions 4, 5, 7, and 8. For other questions, use the number written down as the score. Total the scores for each item. The higher the score, the higher the perceived stress level.

Scores of 0 – 13 indicate low perceived stress.

Scores of 14 – 26 indicate moderate perceived stress.

Score over 27 indicate high perceived stress .

Activity 1

Monitor your stress levels with the following list. See if you can answer yes to any of the following:

Is your resting heart rate higher than usual?

Do your breath from your chest only?

Is your respiration rate elevated?

Is your perceived stress level above a 5 on a scale of 1 – 10?

Do you have symptoms of stress such as headache, tense muscles, or difficulty sleeping?

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If you answered yes to any of the questions, take action to reduce your stress.

Activity 1 Debriefing

What did you find when answering these questions?

What do you think you could do to reduce stress?

Ways to reduce stress:

Meditation

Exercise

Keeping a stress diary

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When students learn to recognize symptoms of stress, they can begin to use stress-busting behaviors. A variety of stress reduction techniques will be discussed in future chapters.

Inventory of College Students’ Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE)

Used to:

Determine the extent to which you experience stressors

Identify sources of stress in a university environment

Conflict with others

Social rejection

Too much to do at once

Financial conflicts

Dissatisfaction with school

Not enough time

Loneliness

Not enough sleep

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Figure 2.4 is an Inventory of College Students’ Recent Life Experiences that have the potential to create stress for students. This 49-question assessment was designed specifically with college students in mind. It includes a list of experiences that many students have while in college and can be used to determine current levels of stress, as well as to help discover which hassles play a greater part in your life.

Ardell Wellness Stress Test

This assessment considers the importance of several health dimensions of stress. These include:

Physical

Mental

Emotional

Spiritual

Social

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The Ardell Wellness Stress Test considers a holistic approach to stress assessment. This test measures indicators of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social aspects of health to create a more balanced assessment and how those aspects significantly affect the quality of life.

Students who take this assessment test can use their scores to look for patterns in the various aspects of health and work to balance those dimensions of wellness.

Student Stress Scale

Measures the likelihood of disease and illness following stressful life events.

Life events are given scores.

Scores indicate the readjustment needed.

Events can be potentially positive and negative and are based on perception of the event.

Change requires adaptation!

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The student stress scale is an adaptation of the Life Events Scale by Holmes and Rahe, specifically adapted for college students. This scale is designed to predict the likelihood of disease and illness when students are exposed to stressful life events.

This scale shows the change a student should make to adapt and regain stability in order to restore balance. This assessment considers ONLY life events themselves, not the student’s perception of the event.

Question 2

Which event is the most stressful event on the Student Stress Scale?

Death of a close friend

Major personal illness or injury

Jail term

Death of a close family member

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Knowledge Check 1

Indications of stress include mental and physical symptoms.

True

False

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Knowledge Check 1: Answer

Indications of stress include mental and physical symptoms.

TRUE

Stress often manifests itself in rapid heartbeats or difficulty in breathing. Other physical symptoms of stress include insomnia, tense muscles, and difficulty concentrating.

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Stress Vulnerability Factors

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Vulnerability Factors

Vulnerability increases a person’s susceptibility to stress.

Vulnerability factors include:

Genetics

Coping style

Thinking style

Environment

Social skills

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Vulnerability is an important aspect in understanding the stress experience. Those with low vulnerability need to experience more stress before they become distressed. Conversely, those with high vulnerability reach high levels of stress much more quickly.

The stress vulnerability questionnaire helps assess physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social factors that affect how vulnerable we are to stress.

Stress Vulnerability Factors (1 of 2)

Genetics

Studies show a genetic element related to vulnerability, but this is only part of the story.

Coping style

This is a learned skill and can include managing stressors (such as time and money) and how we respond to those stressors.

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Twins were used in studies to show evidence of vulnerability based on genetics. This, however, is only one factor.

Coping strategies are learned skills, and they will be worked on throughout the semester.

Stress Vulnerability Factors (2 of 2)

Thinking style

More than optimism or pessimism

How we see the world around us

Environment

Clutter, noise, distractions

Social skills

Social support results in better crisis response

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The last three factors of vulnerability include thinking style, the environment, and social skills.

Thinking style considers how people think about themselves and the world around them. Specific ways of thinking can help to minimize or increase how vulnerable we are to stress.

Our environment can also contribute to stress. Clutter, disorganization, and constant noise can increase our vulnerability to stress. Consider how to create an environment that helps reduce vulnerability to stress.

Social skills can also affect our vulnerability to stress. The more social people are, the more social support they experience. This support can make them less vulnerable to stress because it is easier for them to give and receive help. Those with supportive relationships tend to cope better in times of crisis.

Activity 2

What are ways you cope with stress in college?

Does your environment, such as your bedroom or study environment, contribute to levels of stress? How can you better manage that?

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Have students meet in groups and discuss how they manage stress.

Activity 2 Debriefing

When you begin to understand your stress vulnerability factors, you can look for ways to relieve that stress.

While you cannot change your genetic make-up, you can change how you think, your coping skills, your environment, and your social skills.

The more integrated you are in society, the more social support you experience. Those with higher levels of social support are less vulnerable to stress because it is easier to give, and receive, help.

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Question 3

The question "In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way" relates most closely to ____.

holistic wellness

perceived stress

stress vulnerability

environmental stress

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Knowledge Check 2

Stress vulnerability can be reduced by asking for and giving help to others. The nurturing of supportive relationships is part of which aspect of stress vulnerability factors?

Genetics

Coping style

Thinking style

Environment

Social skills

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Knowledge Check 2: Answer

E. Social skills

The more integrated people are with other, the more social support they experience. This support reduces vulnerability to stress. Strong social skills make it easier to give and receive help.

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Tombstone Test

How do you want to be remembered?

Take a few minutes to write down what you want others to say and think about you when your life is over.

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This is a powerful activity that helps students identify what is important in their life.

Have students write down how they would like to be remembered when their life is over. This should include qualities and characteristics for which they want to be remembered.

Choices they make every day determine stress levels. Daily activities can become stress-relieving habits when used well. As students assess what is most important in their life, remind them that their values and goals can only be achieved if they live a life that is based on those values and goals.

Daily Stress Diary

A stress diary can reveal a variety of things:

Stress triggers

Patterns of stress responses

Areas where you can reduce

vulnerability to stress

The impact of stress in your life

Thoughts and feeling about stressors

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Students have likely kept diaries for a variety of things: weight management, thoughts and feelings, time management.

A stress diary serves a similar purpose. Students can use a stress diary to see patterns that develop and how they respond to those potential stressors.

A stress diary will help students determine their vulnerability to stress and areas where they can reduce that vulnerability.

Activity 3

The Daily Stress Diary

Throughout the day, list situations or events that start the stress response. For each event, include:

Source of stress

Time and place

Level of perceived stress

Thoughts and feelings about the stressor

Coping strategies used to deal with the stressor

At the end of the day, think about:

Major sources of stress

How well you managed the stress

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Question 4

How often do you experience physical symptoms of stress like headaches, muscle, tension or stomach problems?

Almost never

Rarely (2-4 times a month)

Sometimes (2-4 times a week)

Often (nearly every day or more)

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Conclusion

Stress is measured from a variety of perspectives, including:

Physiological indicators of stress

Your perception of what is happening in your life

Sources of stress and the frequency of hassles

Your level of satisfaction with the events in your life

Life events you have experienced

Your vulnerability to stress

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Summary

The first step in developing a plan to reduce stress is to assess how it occurs in your life.

Stress can trigger physiological changes such as increases in pulse and respiration rates.

Physical symptoms include headache, muscle tension, insomnia and other symptoms.

Perception is a vital aspect of stress.

Stress can be evaluated based on frequency.

Understanding where you are vulnerable to stress allows you to better manage stress and be less susceptible to its harmful effects.

Use a variety of assessments for a better understanding of your stress levels.

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This chapter offers several opportunities for students to measure their stress levels and responses to stress, including the stress profile in Activity 2.2 Students should be encouraged to take several of these surveys and questionnaires to better understand their personal stress vulnerabilities.