How Do You Cope With Stress? There are numerous ways to cope with stress, some effective and some harmful. The following checklist is not a clinical assessment instrument, but a survey developed by Dr. George S. Everly, Jr. to clarify how you cope with stress in your life. Follow the instructions given for each of the 14 items. When you have completed the survey, add up your total score. ___ 1. Give yourself 10 points if you feel that you have a supportive family. ___ 2. Give yourself 10 points if you actively pursue a hobby. ___3. Give yourself 10 points if you belong to some social or activity group that meets at least once a month (other than your family) . ___ 4. Give yourself 15 points if you are within five pounds of your "ideal" bodyweight, considering your height and bone structure. ___ 5. Give yourself 15 points if you practice some form of "deep relaxation at least three times a week. ___ 6. Give yourself 5 points for each time you exercise 30 minutes or longer during an average week. ___ 7. Give yourself 5 points for each nutritionally balanced and wholesome meal you consume during an average day. ___ 8. Give yourself 10 points for each time you do something that you really enjoy, "just for yourself," during an average week. ___ 9. Give yourself 10 points if you have some place in your home that you can go to in order to relax or be by yourself ___10. Give yourself 10 points if you practice time management techniques in your daily life. ___11. Subtract 10 points for each pack of cigarettes you smoke during the course of an average day. ___12. Subtract 5 points for each evening during the course of an average week that you take any form of medication or chemical substance (including alcohol) to help you sleep. ___13. Subtract 10 points for each day during the course of an average week that you consume any form of medication or chemical substance (including alcohol) to reduce your anxiety or just to calm you down ___14. Subtract 5 points for each evening during the course of an average week that you bring home work that was meant to be done at your place of employment. ______ TOTAL SCORE The higher your score, the greater your health-promoting coping practices. A "perfect" score would be around 115. Scores in the 50 - 60 range are probably adequate to cope with most common sources of stress. Keep in mind that items 1-10 represent adaptive health-promoting coping strategies. Items 11-14 represent maladaptive, health-deteriorating coping strategies that are self-sustaining because they do provide at least some temporary relief from stress. However, at the end of the day, their utilization serves to erode one's health. Some amount of stress is a good thing; it helps us feel alive and productive and challenges us to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Our bodies have many ways of telling us that we have inched too highly up the stress scale, but we often ignore the signs that we need to make adjustments in our lives. Some signs of too much stress are: Muscle spasms and tightness Headaches Dry mouth Sighing Confusion Sudden crying Indigestion, diarrhea, constipation and/or nausea Fingernail biting Heart palpitations, chest pain Impatience, irritability Fatigue Decreased productivity Too little or too much sleep Depression Undereating or overeating Leg wagging, hair twirling Excessive giggling or talking There are two ways to reduce stress in our lives. The first is to change the world around you - your surroundings, your time schedule, your activities, or your habits. You cannot be all things to all people at all times, nor can everything you do be perfect. Decide where you can adjust or cut back.
The second way to reduce stress is to change the way you think about things. If you cannot do anything about a stressful element in your life, you can always change how you think about it. For example, when a bad driver pulls out in front of you suddenly, you can lay on the horn, throw a tantrum, take it personally, and think or verbalize about how "that guy tried to kill you." For a little extra drama, you could ride his tail for several miles. OR you could think, "He's probably driving erratically because he's having a bad day or he's preoccupied with something else. I can forgive him because I've had bad days, too."
Whether we cause our own stress through our thoughts and unrealistic expectations or if it stems from events and circumstances we cannot control, we can restore ourselves by increasing the protective factors that balance and enrich our lives (such as healthy diets, exercise, relaxation techniques, hobbies, and family and social supports) and decreasing the risk factors (such as substance abuse, unhealthy patterns of thinking, unrealistic expectations and poor diet) that increase stress in our lives.