How to Measure Signs of Stress

Recognizing stress symptoms and how often they occur can help you deal with stress. Use the previous two weeks as your time frame and record the occurrence of the following physical and emotional signs of stress. After identifying your stress symptoms and how often they occur, use the stress rating scale to find your score.

Stress Symptom Scale

• 0 = Never

• 1 = Sometimes

• 2 = Often

• 3 = Very often

  ____	Fatigue or tiredness	____	Feeling helpless or hopeless
  ____	Pounding heart	____	Excessive drinking
  ____	Rapid pulse	____	Excessive smoking
  ____	Increased perspiration	____	Excessive spending
  ____	Rapid breathing	____	Excessive drug or medication use
  ____	Aching neck or shoulders	____	Feeling upset
  ____	Low back pain	____	Feeling nervous or anxious
  ____	Gritting teeth or clenching jaw	____	Increased irritability
  ____	Hives or skin rash	____	Worrisome thoughts
  ____	Headaches	____	Impatience
  ____	Cold hands or feet	____	Feelings of depression
  ____	Tightness in chest	____	Loss of sexual interest
  ____	Nausea	____	Feeling angry
  ____	Diarrhea or constipation	____	Sleep difficulties
  ____	Stomach discomfort	____	Forgetfulness
  ____	Nail biting	____	Racing or intrusive thoughts
  ____	Twitches or tics	____	Feeling restless
  ____	Difficulty swallowing or dry mouth	____	Difficulty concentrating
  ____	Colds or flu	____	Periods of crying
  ____	Lack of energy	____	Frequent absences from work
  ____	Overeating	____	Your total Stress-Symptom Score

Your Stress Rating