Overwhelming stress cripples. Neuroscientists have begun to learn that even acute, everyday stress can turn off the brain’s command-and-control center, the prefrontal cortex. Without our  mental executive, we feel helpless and out of control.

The more we learn about stress, the more we realize that monitoring stress and taking steps to keep it under control is an important preventive health measure. Three Yale researchers—Amy Arnsten, Carolyn M. Mazure and Rajita Sinha—recount the state of stress science in the April issue with their article, “This Is Your Brain In Meltdown.” Follow up on your reading with this self-assessment test compiled by Sinha,  a gauge of  both perceived stress and physical signs of tension.

1. Perceived Stress:

Indicate with a check how often you felt or thought a certain way during the last month.

1.  In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?
 ___0=never ___1=almost never ___2=sometimes ___3=fairly often ___4=very often

2.  In the last month, how often have you NOT felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?
 ___0=never ___1=almost never ___2=sometimes ___3=fairly often ___4=very often

3.  In the last month, how often have you felt that things were NOT going your way?
 ___0=never ___1=almost never ___2=sometimes ___3=fairly often ___4=very often

4.  In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?
 ___0=never ___1=almost never ___2=sometimes ___3=fairly often ___4=very often

Scoring: Total up the scores for items 1-4 above. Higher scores denote greater current stress. Keep a log to compare your scores from month to month

Adapted from: Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385-396.

1. Physical signs and symptoms:

Check in with your body’s stress signals. These can serve as warning signs that the situation you are dealing with is overwhelming, uncontrollable and highly stressful. 

Have you felt any of the changes listed below in your body and mind when facing a highly stress situation:

1. Heart changes (heart quickens; heart beats faster;  heart races; heart skips a beat;  heart pounding; pain in chest)

____0=no            ____ 1=yes

Changes in Breathing (breathing faster; breathing slower; gasping for air; shallow breathing; labored breathing)
 ____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1. Stomach Changes (Cramps in stomach; stomach in a knot; butterflies in stomach; heavy feeling in stomach; sensation of having a bowel movement)

 ____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1. Muscle tension (head pounding; headaches; tightness in face; tightness in jaw; feel tense all over; tension in back, neck, arms or legs; flushed face; tension in forehead; tension in shoulders)

____0=no                  ____ 1=yes

1. Fear and Anxiety (jitteriness; whole body is shaky; feel restless; irritable; hands trembling; want to run and escape) 

____0=no                  ____ 1=yes

1. Sad and Depressed feelings (eyes watering; feeling choked up; lump in your throat; feel like crying; feeling empty, drained or hollow; deep intense pain sensation; hurts to be alive; tears come to your eyes; feelings are dulled)

____0=no                  ____ 1=yes

1. Anger feelings (clenched jaw; grit your teeth; clenched fists; eyes burning; blood rushes to your head; want to smash something; want to scream and strike someone)

____0=no                  ____ 1=yes

1. Sweat and Perspiration Changes (feel sweaty; sweat pours out; feel hot all over; palms are clammy; beads of perspiration; dry mouth) 

____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1. Sensations in Chest (sinking feeling in chest; constriction in the chest; heaviness in the chest)

____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1. Cognitive/mental state Changes (losing focus and concentration; increased distraction; loss of memory and forgetfulness; loss of energy; fatigue or tiredness)

____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1. Changes in urges or cravings and intake (increased urge for cigarettes, alcoholic drink; caffeine, comfort foods; overeating;  overdrinking; loss of appetite)

____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1. Sleep changes (insomnia; frequent waking; difficulty falling or staying asleep; early waking)

____0=no            ____ 1=yes

1.  Other changes (increased aches and pains in joints; increased frequency of colds, other signs specific to you)

____0=no                  ____ 1=yes

Scoring: The more changes you said yes to, the greater the impact stress is having on your body and mind. More information on the Stress effects and warning signs, visit: yalestress.org; apa.org/helpcenter/stress-signs.aspx

6 Comments

1. 1. edwestrfld 11:02 PM 3/24/12

   In the recent movie "Game Change", which detailed the selection of Sarah Palin as the vice presidential nominee for John McCain's presidential bid in 2008, there were several scenes that graphically illustrated the effects of stress on cognition. Palin was placed under increasing pressure to learn facts related to US foreign policy, a collection of knowledge which Palin was famously uninformed. As the pressure grew, she began to shut down, so much so that she became almost catatonic, and presented such a dilemma to the campaign, that John McCain had her stay at his hacienda in Sedona, AZ, in an attempt to do a timeout and do a mental reset. Julian Moore does a phenomenal acting job in detailing how Sarah Palin "shut down" mentally in the 2008 presidential campaignm, under the relentless pressure of stress.

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2. 2. B-Portland 03:09 PM 4/3/12

   Researchers needing chronic stress subjects should look at mothers of young children re-entering the workforce because their husbands are having midlife crises and divorcing them. There seem to be plenty of us these days, all with the same story. Formerly smart, organized, efficient women are falling apart under the daily burden of dealing with crushing responsibility with insufficient resources of time, money, and energy. The heartbreak underlying it all is paralyzing, yet the family's needs become more urgent than ever. The article accurately describes our inner experience of the malfunctioning mind constantly working at the edge. It would be great to come up with a pill to save the men from their folly, but next best would be one to help the women (and maybe the children) deal with the long-term damaging aftermath.

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3. 3. julia smith in reply to B-Portland 12:58 PM 4/9/12

   You are saying that women are entitled to stay at home while their husbands earn the living of the whole family, because otherwise they feel stressed. Nevermind if men feel stress for having to make enough money for all the family. This reminds me of the book The Manipulated Man.

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4. 4. B-Portland 03:47 PM 4/9/12

   Not at all. It seems self-evident that the burdens of caring for a family should be shared. In many successful families both parents evenly share childcare and parenting, cooking and shopping, financial management, house and yard work, and bringing in income. In others, the split is more along the lines of unpaid labor inside and paid labor outside the home. How it is split and which gender does what is not important to my point. My point addresses what happens when the burdens are NOT shared. If one parent is suddenly forced to carry them alone, it is enormously stressful. With respect to income, if a person was at home for a number of years, he or she is at a significant disadvantage career-wise if they need to re-enter the workforce for any reason. If, due to abandonment by a spouse, he or she suddenly must bring in income AND take on all the other responsibilities alone, all while grieving over the loss of a precious relationship, the situation becomes nearly insupportable. Statistically this happens to women more often than to men. For whatever reason (judgement suspended here) men are more susceptible to midlife crises and prone to infidelity. So, if the researchers are really looking for a large population of stressed-out people trying to keep their minds in order, there are ready-made ones available; the female pool is somewhat larger than the male pool.

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5. 5. Freemanpdx 04:58 PM 4/9/12

   I agree with you B-Portland. That's an extremely stressful position, and it's not short-term stress. I wonder if there is any research out there focusing specifically on this type of stress. I scour the web for it, but get only bits and pieces and a lot of people don't get it, but who are more than ready to judge the parent for whatever reason.

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6. 6. KS413 in reply to B-Portland 02:22 AM 4/11/12

   I think this is a very well-made point, B-Portland. If this is your situation, I have sympathy. It does seem to be an extremely stressful position. Short of a pill to save men from their folly, I hope that help for women in such a position is soon on the horizon. It seems possible with sound policy initiatives such as programs helping women transition back to work with affordable childcare, career guidance/counseling after years off the job market, etc. Those are just off the top of my head, of course.

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