Are you overly anxious? Way too stressed out? Or just in need of a little more mindfulness? Before we dive into New Year\u2019s Resolutions, we thought a bracing dose of self-awareness could be just the trick. To that end, we\u2019ve culled together five classic diagnostics that help you assess your stress levels, your coping mechanisms, your tolerance for uncertainty, and your overall optimism.<\/p>\n
At ten questions, this diagnostic will give you a very quick summary of what your relative stress level is, as compared to people of your gender and\/or age group. If you\u2019re way over the average, you might want to plan a few more vacations for next year. If you\u2019re way under the average, congratulations, sounds like you\u2019ve got a chill sitch<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perceived Stress Scale:<\/strong> Take the quiz!<\/a><\/p>\n If you want to go on an even deeper stress quest, this inventory-style quiz will help you analyze how many stressful events you\u2019ve experienced in the past year. It\u2019s not going to give you any \u201caction items\u201d to pursue, but it\u2019s interesting to take stock of whether you\u2019ve had a particularly trying year emotionally, or one to be grateful for. (Sidenote: We do not agree with the authors of this scale that being a \u201csingle person living alone\u201d is an emotional stressor. Yeesh.)<\/p>\n Social Readjustment Rating Scale:<\/strong> Take the quiz!<\/a><\/p>\n Okay, so now you know how stressed out your are (or aren\u2019t). But how are you dealing with it? Are you laughing it off? Are you criticizing yourself? Are you talking it out with friends? This brief diagnostic gives you a good window into the habits you rely on to deal with stress, be they good or bad. For this one, scroll to the bottom and answer the questions 1 through 28.<\/p>\n COPE Inventory:<\/strong> Take the quiz!<\/a><\/p>\n Risk and uncertainty are (for better or worse) a part of life. And with technology reinventing our world every few years, getting comfortable with the unknown is becoming more of an asset each day. So what\u2019s your attitude toward uncertainty? Wildly enthusiastic? Mildly paralyzed? This 27-question quiz will give you deeper insight into how much anxiety you have about not knowing what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale:<\/strong> Take the quiz!<\/a><\/p>\n This super-short questionnaire will give you an idea of how optimistic your general outlook on life is. There is no scoring key so your interpretation of your score is, in itself, a sort of test of your optimism. We\u2019re not entirely sure how useful this quiz actually is, but it made us feel pretty good about our attitude so we included it!<\/p>\nQuiz #2 \u2013 How many stressful events have you endured this year?<\/h3>\n
Quiz #3 \u2013 What strategies are you using to cope with your stress?<\/h3>\n
Quiz #4 \u2013 How much do you worry about the uncertainty of the future?<\/h3>\n
Quiz #5 \u2013 How optimistic are you?<\/h3>\n