Friday, May 8, 2009

Assessing stress -checklist for you


Handling stress is not always easy, hence there is a complex interrelated issues involved in it. We must pay attention to the following areas of individual to help them more effectively. Otherwise, you may handle only superficial problems. 
I. General factors 
 1. Physical – health, nutrition, specific symptom etc..
 2. Psychological – coping style, self-esteem, personal characteristics etc..
 3. Social - family, interpersonal, conflict, separation, attachment etc.
 4. Academic – failure, demand, unfamiliar environment etc..
 5. Work related – overload, harassment, conflict etc.
 6. Environmental – violence, unfair policy, culture etc..
II. Specific personal factors
 1. Cognition – distortion, rigidity, negative attribution etc.
 2. Emotion – depression, anxiety, anger etc.
 3. Behaviour – substance abuse, risk taking, withdrawal/isolation 
III. Temporal factors 
 1. Duration
 2. Frequency
 3. Perceived or real problem
 4. Perceived controllability
 5. Perceived efficacy believe
 6. Perceived social support
 7. Predictable outcome – hope
IV. Other important factors 
 1. Need for medical treatment – life-threatening illness
 2. Major life decision - separation, leaving job, school or college
 3. Suicide ideation – unspoken area