There are many ways in which the magnificent system that is your body can malfunction through stress. In fact virtually anything that goes wrong with our bodies can be a symptom of stress, from asthma to heart disease. In general, the best way to know what is going on in your life, to be aware of your own attitudes and tendencies is to develop a relationship with a physician who may be alert as to how events in your life could be affecting your health. Our thoughts and our behavior can also be symptoms of stress. The self-evaluation test below will give you an idea of ways in which thoughts, feelings and physical symptoms can all be clues that the level of stress we are experiencing is not a good one. Tension Self-Evaluation…A “yes” answer to any of these questions is an indication that some area(s) in your life need attention. STRESS SYMPTOMS: 1. ____ Do you get irritable over petty things? 2. ____ Does your irritability turn into uncontrollable anger? 3. ____ Are you becoming hypercritical of others? 4. ____ Do you feel increasingly sorry for yourself? 5. ____ Are you too busy to eat? 6. ____ Do you have trouble falling asleep? 7. ____ Do you have trouble staying asleep? 8. ____ Are you too tired to think? 9. ____ Are you a nonstop talker? 10. ____ Do you find it difficult to converse? 11. ____ Must you be first in everything? 12. ____ Do minor disappointments throw you? 13. ____ Do you find you have too much to do and too little time? 14. ____ Are you unable to stop worrying? 15. ____ Are you bored? 16. ____ Do you feel neglected, left out? 17. ____ Do you feel you are indispensable? 18. ____ Do you feel as if you want to run away? 19. ____ Do you feel trapped? 20. ____ Are you anxious about the future? 21. ____ Do your hands tremble? 22. ____ Do you laugh or cry uncontrollably? 23. ____ Do you worry about aches and pains? 24. ____ Are you conscious of the beating of your heart? 25. ____ Do you perspire excessively under the arms? 26. ____ Is your stomach queasy? 27. ____ Do you have pains in your stomach? 28. ____ Do you suffer from dizzy spells? 29. ____ Do you need a tranquilizer or a drink before facing company or an important occasion? 30. ____ Do you overeat when you’re not really hungry? BEHAVIOR SYMPTOMS: 31. ____ Do you insist that other people admit you’re right during arguments? 32. ____ Do you put off tasks which are unpleasant or difficult? 33. ____ Do you worry more about your family and friends than they do themselves? 34. ____ Are you more likely to ignore the irritating behavior of friends, rather than confront them? 35. ____ Do you overreact to problems when you are angry, regretting it later? 36. ____ Do you find it difficult to establish priorities in your workload? 37. ____ Do you believe that only one winner can emerge from an interpersonal conflict? 38. ____ At the end of the day, do you find you haven’t accomplished the most important things? 39. ____ Do you find yourself having to backtrack on problems because you don’t get all the facts? 40. ____ Do you feel that if you don’t act as if you’re in the right, when presenting your views, others won’t respect you? 41. ____ Do you have a tendency to dominate most of the problem solving whenever you help friends with their problems? 42. ____ Do you find yourself under great time pressure? 43. ____ Do you find yourself boxed-in because you haven’t developed adequate contingency plans? 44. ____ Do you feel that you never truly resolve the personal conflicts in which you are involved? 45. ____ Are you usually faced with many problems which snowballed from simpler problems? 46. ____ Do you often blow up at situations which later seem trivial? 47. ____ Do you feel guilty whenever you can’t come up with a solution to others’ problems? 48. ____ Do you make plans and set objectives without committing yourself to firm time deadlines? 49. ____ Do you find it difficult not to take criticism personally? Some Suggestions for Stress Reduction • Plan some idleness every day. It doesn’t have to be a long time—fifteen minutes to half an hour will do. • Listen to others without interruption. It is often tempting to anticipate what people are going to say and even interrupt them. A very powerful way to reduce the resistance of others toward you and to heighten your ability to deal with them is to practice listening to others rather than being against them. • Read books that demand concentration. Select books of value that you cannot skim through. A book that really demands your attention will force you to block out distraction and get your mind off things, thereby reducing stress. • Learn to savor food. The enjoyment of a meal can be greatly enhanced by eating slowly and taking time to really smell, look at and taste the food you eat. • Have a safe place at home where you can be alone. • Avoid people and events that irritate you. • Plan leisurely, non-structured vacations.