Psychological self-test for symptoms of stress

Use the stress test to determine how much stress you’re under.


For many disorders affecting your wellbeing, taking a critical look at your own mental state can put you on course towards feeling better. Use this test to determine how much stress you’re under and how psychological counselling could help you.
This is not a standardised clinical test – such tests should only ever be conducted with a psychologist or therapist in the context of professional counselling. So the results do not constitute a diagnosis and the derived parameters do not indicate where you stand in comparison with other people on average. They should serve solely as an encouragement towards self-reflection.

You should repeat the test from time to time. If you happen to be in an acutely difficult situation right now, like divorce, strains at work or the like, or perhaps dealing with a sad loss, it’s understandable that your mental state may be reflected in poorer values. Moreover, everyone has a bad day from time to time, when it’s hard to muster any joy or positive thoughts. So don’t give too much emphasis to bad results but rather take them much more as indications that it’s time to do yourself a favour and look for ways in which you might recharge your batteries. Do the test again after a while – you’ll see how, even after a steep turn for the worse, things can get better.

If no other time period is stated, then the questions relate to estimates over the last 14 days. As a rule the potential answers are grouped like school marks. The first potential answer, ranked all the way to the left, gets one point whilst the last gets five points. Enter your scores by each question and add up your total at the end of each test.
Even if you didn’t have high scores in the tests for trouble with physical complaints or the questions about exhaustion, you should answer the questions that follow. Not all people react physically (immediately) to everyday burdens, whilst exhaustion is the extreme endpoint of a series of manifestations of stress. Check out whether you’ve noticed changes in your mood or behaviour.
Over recent weeks I’ve noticed in myself the following changes:
Behavioural problems
1) Changes in eating behaviour (more, less, no appetite)
 
2) Reluctance to reach decisions
 
3) Bad decisions
 
4) Increased consumption of coffee
 
5) Increased consumption of alcohol
 
6) Increased consumption of tobacco
 
7) Increased consumption of medication (for pain, sleeping, stimulants or others)
 
8) Hectic behaviour
 
9) Tendency to not let others finish speaking
 
10) Impatience with other people
 
11) Problems falling asleep
 
12) Waking early
 
13) Problems sleeping continuously for more than six hours (e.g. at weekends too)
 
14) Forgetfulness
 
15) Mixing up appointments
 
16) Social withdrawal (meeting people less often)
 
17) Neglecting hobbies
 
18) Increasing avoidance of movement / exercise
 
Mood problems
19) Tension
 
20) Insecurity
 
21) Irritability
 
22) Testiness
 
23) Depressive mood, tendency to weep
 
24) Dissatisfaction
 
25) Exhaustion
 
26) Problems concentrating
 
27) Getting angry easily
 
28) Feeling helpless and hopeless
 
29) Feeling powerless
 
30) Feeling there isn’t enough time
 
31) Anxiety
 
32) Apathy
 
33) Hypochondria