Stress is everywhere and it affects us all. Actually some stress is beneficial because it helps focussing, and boosts your problem solving skills. However, too much stress can wear you down and make you sick, both mentally and physically. The Perceived Stress Scale was developed to provide a quick, easy, and fairly reliable self assessment tool. Your responses give a score at the end, which rates your perceived stress levels from low to high.
Determine your current stress level and find out if it is effecting your health
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was developed by Sheldon Cohen in 1983. It is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the perception of stress. It measures the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.
How to take the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) Self-Assessment
The following 10 questions ask about your feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, you will be asked to indicate how often you felt or thought a certain way. Since everybody experiences stress differently, a certain situation can be perceived more or less stressful to each individual. Hence, there are no right or wrong answers.
Try to answer fairly quickly. You don’t need to count up the number of times you felt a particular way, a reasonable estimate is just fine.
Disclaimer: The scores on the self-assessment do not reflect any particular diagnosis or course of treatment. They are meant as a tool to help assess your level of stress. If you have any further concerns about your current well being, you may contact your primary care practitioner or talk confidentially to a specialists. You can schedule a free consultation call here.