Quzzies

How Stressed Are You?

Stress sucks. But you don’t have to live with it. Here’s how to take control of your angst before it takes control of you.

Freaking out about the size of your butt, being traumatised about what to wear, worrying about exams, being dumped by boys and hassled by your peers are all pretty standard girl dilemmas. But how you cope on those scores depends a lot on how you as an individual deal with your stress. Find out what factors increase stress in your body and mind and check out how you can chill out.

This Stress Test is designed to give you an indicator of how stress is affecting you. You may find you’re more stressed than you imagine. Or, good news, you may work out that you’re handling the stresses in your life like an ace.

Just answer the following questions keeping note of how many times you say “yes” and “no”. Then figure out your score and read up on what it all means.

Answer yes or no.

1. I’m having problems with relationships.
2. I’m finding it difficult to sleep.
3. I’m worrying a lot of the time.
4. Right now I’m experiencing a major change in my school or home environment.
5. I’m hanging for a holiday.
6. I’m stressing about a teacher, parent or friend.
7. I’m freaking about the amount of homework each week.
8. I’m not doing much exercise.
9. I’m skipping meals.
10. I’m using television or the Net as a way to escape reality.
11. I’m often fearful of the future.
12. I’m snappy at brothers and sisters, friends and parents.
13. I never get to relax.
14. My sense of humour has gone to dust. I can’t see the funny side of life.
15. I expect to be super successful at everything.
16. I’m feeling overwhelmed a lot of the time.
17. I’ve been diagnosed with a chronic health condition.
18. I’m finding it hard to concentrate.
19. I think I’m ugly.
20. No one likes me?

TOTAL YOUR SCORE

Score 1 for each YES and 0 for each NO

1-5: Awesome. You’re in great shape. You have few hassles in your life and you’re handling the ones you have. Be careful not to be so laid-back that you avoid challenges because they appear too stressful. You’ll increase your chances of maintaining your laid-back attitude to life if you begin a meditation program and maintain an exercise regime. Pat yourself on the back. You’re coping with stress really well.

5-10: So you have many things in your life under control but you may have experienced an acute or short-term stress that has increased your score. Make sure that your lifestyle choices support your health and wellbeing. For a time be really conscious of what you eat (and make sure you go easy on sugar and caffeine loaded foods and drinks), get some regular exercise and start with 3 x 30 minute walks per week, start a meditation program and try for at least 20 minutes chill out time per day - you should be in great shape.

10-15: It’s time for you to take action and eliminate some big stresses from your life. Your health may already be under pressure and you may be discovering your relationships are suffering due to your pent-up emotions. Now would be a good time to talk to a trusted friend or counsellor about the stuff that’s hassling you and in the meantime take up some regular exercise (some hard core aerobic workouts are beneficial in treating stress and depression) and have a good look at your diet. If you’re eating a lot of fast foods and sugars, which put pressure on your digestive system, now would be a good time to do a gentle detox with some fresh fruit juices such as watermelon and ginger and add some herbal teas to your meals. Include regular R&R breaks in your daily life and begin a consistent meditation program. Don’t beat yourself up but DO take action and discover ways to chill out.

15 and Over: Definitely time to stress down! It’s possible that your health and wellbeing are suffering under the extreme stress you are experiencing. Time to build in some meditation, yoga and R&R in your daily life, and I mean DAILY. Whether the stress is acute (short term) or chronic (long term) you need to seek the advice of a doctor or counsellor to talk through the things that are freaking you out. Lifestyle practices such as meditation, yoga and exercise will certainly help but whatever you do don’t wait any longer to address the stress in your life! Kids Help Line 1800 551 800.