Part II: Your Stress Triggers
Circle the
answers that best apply to you. If none apply (for instance, if you are
perfectly satisfied with your work life and it doesn’t cause you
stress), don’t circle any of the answers under a given question:
6. When it comes to where you live, by what do you feel the most stressed?
A. I feel stressed by city pollution/indoor allergens.
B. I feel stressed by frequent quarreling with someone in my home.
C. I
feel stressed by sleep deprivation. My living conditions (new baby,
noisy roommates) don’t ever allow me to sleep as much as I need.
D. I feel
stressed by a sudden change in the people that live in my home, either
due to absence (someone moved out, passed away) or presence (someone
moved in, a new baby).
7. What habits should you change?
A. I shouldn’t stay inside too much. I know I should get some fresh air once in a while.
B. I shouldn’t constantly put myself down.
C. I shouldn’t smoke, drink, or eat too much.
D. I shouldn’t be too concerned with what other people think of me.
8. What could make your life so much better?
A. If only I could move out of the city/rural area/small town/suburbs/ this country!
B. If only I felt better about who I am.
C. If only I were healthier and had more energy.
D. If only I had more power, prestige, and money.
9. What do you truly dread?
A. I dread the holidays. All that holiday cheer everywhere gets me down.
B. I dread failure.
C. I dread illness and/or pain.
D. I dread having to speak in front of people.
10. How do you feel about your life’s work or career?
A. I feel I would be happier in a completely different work environment.
B. I feel dissatisfied. My personal skills aren’t being fully utilized.
C. I feel stressed. I’ve already used up all my sick days due to minor illnesses.
D. I feel
pressure to conform to the work habits of my coworkers or the
expectations of my supervisor, even though I’m not comfortable working
in that way.
Part III: Your Stress Vulnerability Factors
Circle the answers that best apply to you:
11. How do you describe yourself?
A. I’m an extrovert, energized by social contact.
B. I’m an introvert, energized by alone time.
C. I’m a workaholic.
D. I’m a caretaker.
12. What makes you tense?
A. I feel tense when I think about my financial situation.
B. I feel tense when I think about my family.
C. I feel tense when I think about the safety of my loved ones.
D. I feel tense when I think about what people think of me.
13. While plenty of areas of your life are under control, where do you suddenly lose control?
A. I consume too much food and/or alcohol and/or spend too much money.
B. I worry obsessively.
C. I clean the house and/or organize constantly.
D. I just can’t keep my mouth shut! I often unintentionally anger and/or offend someone.
14. When it comes to work, how do you describe yourself?
A. I’m highly motivated and ambitious.
B. I’m a drone. Work is boring and unfulfilling.
C. I’m satisfied but glad I’ve got a life outside my job.
D. I’m deeply dissatisfied. I know I could accomplish something so much better than this if only I had the opportunity to try!
15. How are you in your personal relationships?
A. I’m usually the one in control.
B. I’m a follower.
C. I’m always looking for something I don’t have.
D. I’m somewhat distant.
Part IV: Your Stress Response Tendencies
Circle the answer that best describes how you would most likely react to each of the following stress scenarios:
16. What would
you do if your life were really busy and you had too many social
obligations and too much work, and it seemed as though your days
consisted of nothing but frantic rushing around to complete your to-do
list?
A. I’d feel overwhelmed, anxious, and out of control.
B. I’d gain five pounds.
C. I’d
construct an elaborate and detailed system for keeping every aspect of
my life in order, which I’d stick to for a few weeks before abandoning
it.
D. I’d cut back on current obligations and say “no” to new ones.
17. What would you do if you awoke with a nasty cold—a scratchy throat, a stuffy nose, chills, and an allover ache?
A. I’d call in sick and spend the day resting and drinking tea with honey.
B. I’d take cold medicine, go to work, and try to pretend I wasn’t sick.
C. I’d go to
the gym and try to sweat it out by going full power in a kickboxing
class or by running a few miles on the treadmill.
D. I’d wonder
how this could happen to me when I had so many important things to do.
I’d worry about how many things in my life will be disrupted by my
getting sick.
18. How would you handle a problem with a personal relationship?
A. I’d pretend there wasn’t a problem.
B. I’d demand that we talk about it, and talk about it now.
C. I’d get depressed and think that it must be my fault and wonder why I always ruin relationships.
D. I’d spend
some time reflecting on exactly what I would like to say so as not to
sound accusatory, then approach the other person about discussing some
specific problems. If it didn’t work, at least I could say I tried.
19. If your
supervisor told you that a client had complained about you, then advised
you not to worry about it, but suggested that you be more careful of
what you say to clients in the future, how would you feel?
A. I’d feel
extremely offended and obsess for days about who the client might have
been and how I might be able to get revenge for being made to look bad
in front of my boss.
B. I’d feel indifferent. Some people are overly sensitive.
C. I’d feel
aghast if I offended someone and wonder how it could have happened. I’d
then act overly polite and accommodating to everyone but my confidence
would definitely be deflated.
D. I’d feel
hurt or maybe a little angry but would probably decide to take my
supervisor’s advice and not worry about it. I would then make a point to
notice how I spoke to clients.
20. If you
had a big test or presentation in the morning and a lot depended on the
result, how would you feel as you tried to get to sleep?
A. I’d feel
a little nervous but excited because I’d be prepared. I’d plan to get a
really good night’s sleep so that I’d be at my best.
B. I’d feel so
nervous that I probably would throw up. I’d have a few drinks or cookies
or cigarettes to calm myself down, even though that usually doesn’t
work very well. I’d sleep restlessly.
C. I’d stay
up all night going over my notes, even after I knew them by heart. My
feeling would be that it can’t hurt to look at them again . . . and
again.
D.
Thinking about the test or presentation would make me nervous. I’d
pretend nothing was going on and do my best to not think about it.
