Everyone knows that too much stress in our lives can cause us mental and physical health problems.  Many people do not even know how to recognize their own stress level.  Following is a short assessment adopted from A Global Measure of Perceived Stress by Thea Singer: Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein (1983) that was published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Answer the following questions on a scale of 0-4 based upon your feelings in the past month.  (0=Never, 1=Almost Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly Often, and 4=Very Often)

1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?

2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?

3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous or stressed?

4. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?

5. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?

6. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?

7. In the last month, how often have you felt you lacked the ability to handle your personal problems?

8. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were not going your way?

9. In the last month, how often have you not been able to control irritations in your life?

10. In the last month, how often have you felt that you just were not on top of things?

Add up your answers.  0-10= low stress. 11-20=medium stress.  21-30=high stress. 31-40=extreme stress