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Advice and Tips |
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In this section, we give further advice on how to interpret SAQ scale scores where they suggest that you are experiencing higher than average levels of stress. We also suggest some recommended reading chosen from Amazon's bestseller lists. |
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Scale 1: How satisfied are you with your work? |
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A score of 7 indicates that you are more dissatisfied with your job than the average person. A score of 8 or more suggests that job dissatisfaction could be causing you stress – you can tell how much stress by looking at your scores on the stress symptoms scales. Many things can cause job dissatisfaction – for example, long hours, unachievable targets, job insecurity, repetitive or boring work, lack of control, poor bosses and low pay are just some of the factors that produce job dissatisfaction and stress. If you score 7 or more, it is worth trying to identify the critical things that you dislike about your work and thinking about whether and how you could change these to make things better. The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success. Author Nicholas Lore uses the techniques of his career-guidance network, the Rockport Institute, to make The Pathfinder a substitute for a great job counselor. Through goal setting, list making, and other techniques, the book leads readers though the process of deciding exactly what they want to do for a living and finding a way to make it happen. Lore realizes that people have different temperaments and decision-making methods, so he provides individualized advice to suit each one. He also understands that creating a new career requires courage as well as desire, so The Pathfinder devotes plenty of space to motivation and overcoming fears. |
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The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success |
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Scale 2: How satisfied are you with your relationship? |
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A score of 7 indicates that you are more dissatisfied with your current relationship than the average person. A score of 8 or more suggests that you are experiencing serious problems in your relationship. Your scores on the stress symptoms scales will tell you whether relationship difficulties are causing serious amounts of stress. Relationship difficulties are common in the general population. This is why so many marriages fail. If you have serious problems in your relationship, you need to identify the causes and find a way of discussing these with your partner to make changes. Passionate Marriage: Love, Sex, and Intimacy in Emotionally Committed Relationships. In this respectful, erotic, uplifting, and spiritual guide, Dr. Schnarch shares what he has learned about how couples can and must simultaneously break through the sexual and emotional blocks that hold them back from total satisfaction. |
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Passionate Marriage: Love, Sex, and Intimacy in Emotionally Committed Relationships |
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Scale
3: How
satisfied are you with your parental responsibilities? |
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The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood: Coping with Stress, Depression and Burnout. Depression is so common in mothers of infants that the American Psychological Association considers young motherhood a risk factor for depression. University of New Hampshire psychologist and postpartum depression expert Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett helps mothers explore negative feelings and cope with them. Kendall-Tackett, who works with breastfeeding mothers, discusses anger, powerlessness, feeling trapped and the loss of intimacy with a partner. |
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The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood: Coping with Stress, Depression, and Burnout |
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Scale 4: How many and what type of stressful incidents have you experienced in the last two years? |
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A score of 7 indicates that you have experienced more common stressful incidents in the last 2 years than the average person has. A score of 8 or more indicates that you have experienced far more stressful incidents than the average person. Although there is evidence that exposure to several stressful incidents in a short space of time causes severe stress, different people cope in different ways. Your scores on the stress symptoms scales will tell you how much stress this is causing you. The End of Stress As We Know It. A leading neuroscientist discusses while some stress is inevitable, being 'stressed-out' isn't. Includes new research into how the brain works which can help in understanding the reactions bodies have to various stressful circumstances. By recognizing the physiological function of stress, one can learn to live in a way to limit the damage. |
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The End of Stress As We Know It |
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Scales
5 - 7:
Are you
displaying any of the common emotional, behavioral and physical
symptoms of stress? |
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A score of 7 on any of the three symptoms scales indicates that you are experiencing more symptoms of stress than the average person. A score of 8 or more indicates that you are experiencing multiple stress symptoms. Emotional symptoms include things like worrying a lot, feeling afraid, having intrusive thoughts and panic attacks. Behavioral symptoms include things like feeling tired, working less efficiently and having difficulty concentrating. Physical symptoms include medical symptoms such as indigestion, headaches and skin complaints. If you have a score of 7 or more on one or more of the stress symptoms scales, you should make an appointment to see a medical professional. The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook. The bible on stress reduction marks its 20th anniversary with this revised and expanded edition featuring a reader-friendly format with additional techniques, diagrams, examples, and information reflecting the latest research. The chapters on meditation, thought stopping, and coping- skills training have been substantially reworked, and a new chapter on worry control has been added. "An exemplary book on stress; it is lucidly written, it is rationally ordered, it is comprehensive, and each section is densely packed with instructions and exercises which make the workbook easy to practice." |
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The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook |
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Scales
8 – 12:
How far do
you make use of some common coping styles and stress reduction
strategies? |
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In the first seven scales of the SAQ, we have used a score of 7as the cut-off point for making specific recommendations. For scales 8 to 12, that measure coping strategies, we use a score of 4 as the cut-off point for making specific recommendations. This is because a score of 4 or less on any of these scales indicates that you are not deploying the full potential of the strategy in question to alleviate stress. A score of 4 on any one of the scales suggests that you seem to make somewhat less use of this potentially beneficial coping strategy than the average person. A score of 3 or less suggests that you hardly deploy it at all.
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Coping With Stress: Effective People
and Processes |
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Scale
8:
Do you call on
help from friends and family? |
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A score of 4 or less suggests that you tend to try to cope on your own rather than look to friends and family to talk through your problems and find solutions. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping. As a first line of defense against stress-related disease, Sapolsky recommends prevention--learning to recognize the signs of the stress response and to identify the situations that trigger it. His lucid text and not-to-be-overlooked footnotes are filled with delightful twists and turns, personal anecdotes, and nuggets of odd information--for instance, on voodoo death, Peter Pan, and the hunting skills of hyenas. Possessed of a lively intelligence, wide-ranging curiosity, and love of science, Sapolsky writes as though his readers share these traits. First-rate science for the nonscientist that's certain to reduce stress--at least during the time spent reading it. |
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Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping |
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Scale
9:
Are you able to
recognize, understand and actively manage your feelings and
emotions? |
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A score of 4 or less suggests that you need to develop further your ability to recognize, understand and manage your feelings and emotions. A score of 4 tends to indicate, and a score of 3 indicates with greater certainty, that you tend to express your feelings and emotions in an uncontrolled way. The Anger Habit Workbook: Practical Steps for Anger Management. Amazon book reviewer said the following. "Reading The Anger Habit was a big surprise. It showed me the conection between anger and lots of other aspects of my life. I've made changes in my marriage, at work, and with my children that have really made a difference. It showed me that what I thought was my self-esteem was really my self-importance. What a relief I've felt not having to control how others think of me and respond to me. I never thought reading and studying a book could actually change my life, but this book did. Thank you so much Dr.s Semmelroth and Smith. " |
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The Anger Habit Workbook: Practical Steps for Anger Management |
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Scale 10: Do you actively seek to understand, control and reduce the stress in your life? |
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A score of 4 or less suggests that you need to take more control of the situation you find yourself in and be more proactive in understanding, controlling and reducing the things that are causing you stress in your life. A score of 4 tends to indicate, and a score of 3 indicates with greater certainty, that stress tends to paralyze you or stop you doing things. Thoughts & Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life. Chronic anger, anxiety, or depression can result from a group of negative thoughts which exclude other, more beneficial thoughts. In the thoroughly revised edition of this helpful manual, trusted authors present a series of time-proven techniques for stopping the negative thoughts that profoundly impact 12 common mood-based problems |
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Thoughts & Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life |
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Scale 11: Do you know how to take your mind off things? |
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A score of 4 tends to indicate, and a score of 3 indicates with greater certainty, that you do not really seek distractions to reduce pressure and take your mind off things. The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself. Much more than merely a book about nothing, this is a concentrated guide to cultivating a sense of serenity. Simple living expert Sarah Ban Breathnach calls it a "charming prescription for harried hearts and overwrought minds" that's "filled with persuasive reminders that we do too much and live too little." From its bits of well-taken wisdom ("Learn to say, 'I don't know,'"), to tranquil seaside photos, to little lessons on how to meditate, procrastinate, even turn a bath or wine tasting into intensely spiritual experiences, The Art of Doing Nothing is bound to help even the most high-strung, PalmPilot-toting folks remember exactly how it feels to fully relax. |
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The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself |
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Scale
12:
Have you enjoyed
good health and tried to keep fit? |
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A score of 4 tends to indicate, and a score of 3 indicates with greater certainty, that you have had health problems somewhat more frequently than the average person. Try to keep in shape, eat a healthy diet and drink alcohol in moderation. When Working Out Isn't Working Out: A Mind/Body Guide to Conquering Unidentified Fitness Obstacles. Considered a holistic fitness guide, this book exposes readers' UFOs (Unidentified Fitness Obstacles). With an arsenal of cutting-edge information, this book enables them to uncover the missing links in the quest for a healthy body. Michael Gerrish is uniquely qualified to examine the phenomenon of exercise nonadherence, being both a certified and experienced trainer and a psychotherapist. He suggests that many of the problems people have with their fitness programs start long before they ever step into a gym. Long-term, low-grade depression can make it impossible to follow through on an exercise plan. Relentless perfectionism can be another stumbling block (which he calls UFOs, or "unidentified fitness obstacles"). Or you could have attention deficit disorder, causing you to tune out important bits of instruction or "forget" crucial components of a workout schedule. For each potential fitness UFO that Gerrish identifies, he offers a checklist you can go through to see if any of it applies to you, a list of ways to overcome the problem, and resources to turn to for help, if you decide you need it. |
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When Working Out Isn't Working Out: A Mind/Body Guide to Conquering Unidentified Fitness Obstacles |
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Scale 13: Are you a procrastinator? |
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A score of 7 tends to indicate, and a score of 8 or above indicates with greater certainty, that you put things off, avoid completing projects and show a general of lack of initiative. Procrastinators experience more stress than the average person. The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Program for Breaking Free from the Patterns That Hold You Back. At its worst, procrastination can sabotage personal relationships and impede professional progress. The Procrastination Workbook distills the most effective techniques available to help readers identify why they put things off and find solutions. Based on 30 years of research, the book offers a plan for counteracting this undesirable trait at work, home, or school. Quizzes, worksheets, and tips make the process engaging and fun. |
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The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Program for Breaking Free from the Patterns That Hold You Back |
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Scale
14:
Are you a
perfectionist? |
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A score of 7 tends to indicate, and a score of 8 or above indicates with greater certainty, that you set unrealistically high standards for yourself and for other people. Perfectionists experience more stress than the average person. Perfectionism: What's Bad About Being Too Good. With help for Superkids, workaholics, type A's, straight A's, procrastinators, overachievers, and caring adults, this book explains the differences between healthy ambition and unhealthy perfectionism and gives straight strategies for getting out of the perfectionist trap--from recognizing the symptoms to rewarding yourself for who you are, not what you do. It explains why some people become perfectionists, what perfectionism does to the mind and body, why girls are especially prone to it, and more. |
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Perfectionism: What's Bad About Being Too Good |
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Scale 15: Do you feel good about yourself? |
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A score of 7 tends to indicate, and a score of 8 or above indicates with greater certainty, that you do not feel very good about yourself at the present point in time. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. This national bestseller, reissued with a new Introduction from the author, presents a highly successful, clinically proven, drug-free treatment for depression. Recommended by mental health professionals to patients suffering from depression. |
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Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy |
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Scale
16:
Do you feel
depressed? |
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A score of 7 tends to indicate, and a score of 8 or above indicates with greater certainty, that you are experiencing some common symptoms of depression. You should make an appointment to see a medical professional. Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn't Teach You and Medication Can't Give You. For some people, depression has been a part of their experience for so long that they've begun to believe it's what they are. They become experts at "doing" depression--hiding it, working around it, even achieving great things (but at the price of great struggle, and little satisfaction). In this book, psychotherapist Richard O'Conner shows us how to "undo" depression, by replacing depressive patterns of thinking, relating, and behaving with a new and more effective set of skills. With a truly holistic approach that synthesizes the best of the many schools of thought about this painful disease, O'Conner offers new hope--and new life--for depressives. |
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Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn't Teach You and Medication Can't Give You |
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Scale 17: Do you feel anxious? |
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A score of 7 tends to indicate, and a score of 8 or above indicates with greater certainty, that you are experiencing some common symptoms of anxiety. You should make an appointment to see a medical professional. The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook. Anxiety is a major mental health problem in the U.S., seriously affecting approximately 10 to 15 percent of the adult population. Completely updated, this new edition of The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook presents step-by-step guidelines, questionnaires, and exercises to help sufferers learn skills and make lifestyle changes to help them get relief from the most distressing symptoms. Expanded coverage of traditional and new medications, plus supplements and herbs such as kava, St. John's wort, and SAM-e, and an updated list of resources and Web sites make this a major tool in anxiety recovery. Widely recommended by therapists, this book, in a new edition, reflects all the latest developments in the field of anxiety treatment. |
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The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook |
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© 2002 StressDiagnosis.com. All Rights Reserved. |
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