Lifestyle Last updated on 2021-06-11 16:19:34

QUIZ: Are You Stressed Due To COVID-19?

Ms. Deepanwita Roy
4 Min Read

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) is a novel situation that none of us has experienced earlier. Thus, it is normal that it would affect people physically and also psychologically. While everyone reacts to stressful situations differently, knowing the warning signs of stress will help you cope with the stress in a much easier way. Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat, whether it’s real or perceived. Stress means different things to different people. Thus, your perception of stress at a particular event might be different from another person’s perception of stress. And that is because some people are better able to handle stress than others. It is important to know the warning signs of stress to identify the stressors early on:

1. Physical symptoms of stress:

Lack of energy
Headaches, aches, pain and tense muscles
Frequent upset stomach, including diarrhoea, constipation and nausea
Chest pain, rapid heartbeat, nervousness, cold or sweaty hands and feet
Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
Difficulty sleeping
Lack of sexual desire

2. Behavioural symptoms of stress:

Changes in appetite- either not eating or eating too much
Increased nervous behaviours, such as nail-biting, fidgeting and pacing
Procrastination
Increased use of substances, such as smoking and drinking

3. Emotional symptoms of stress:

Being easily agitated, frustrated and moody
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to control your emotions
Difficulty relaxing
Low self-esteem, feeling lonely, worthless and low
Looking for opportunities to avoid others

4. Cognitive symptoms of stress:

Overthinking and racing thoughts
Constant worrying
Forgetfulness
Lack of concentration and focus
Poor judgment
Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side of things

All these symptoms have long-term consequences leading to:

Serious health problems such as,
- Heart disease, high blood pressure, heart attacks and stroke
- Obesity and other eating disorders
- Menstrual problems
- Sexual dysfunction
- Skin and hair problems, such as acne, psoriasis, eczema and permanent hair loss
- Gastrointestinal problems such as GERD, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and personality disorders.

The purpose of the quiz is to help you understand how different circumstances affect your feelings and your perceived stress levels. The questions in the following scale 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. Although some of the questions may appear to be similar, there are differences between them and you should treat each one as a separate question. The best approach is to answer fairly quickly.

In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?	Never (0)	Almost Never (1)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (3)	Very often (4)
In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?	Never (0)	Almost Never (1)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (3)	Very often (4)
In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and stressed?	Never (0)	Almost Never (1)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (3)	Very often (4)
In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?*	Never (4)	Almost Never (3)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (1)	Very often (0)
In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?*	Never (4)	Almost Never (3)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (1)	Very often (0)
In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?	Never (0)	Almost Never (1)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (3)	Very often (4)
In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?	Never (4)	Almost Never (3)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (1)	Very often (0)
In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?*	Never (4)	Almost Never (3)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (1)	Very often (0)
In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that happened that were outside of your control?	Never (0)	Almost Never (1)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (3)	Very often (4)
In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?	Never (0)	Almost Never (1)	Sometimes (2)	Fairly often (3)	Very often (4)

Each one of the questions corresponds to a couple of options, choose the option that best describes what you’re feeling right now. Add up your scores for each item to get a total score.

If your score is ranging from 0-13: it indicates that you have LOW STRESS, which indicates that your perception of stress is low and you should continue doing what you have been doing in order to take care of your physical and mental health.
If your score is ranging from 14-26: it indicates that you have MODERATE STRESS, which indicates that in certain areas of your life, there are some stressors causing difficulties. Try identifying the stressors in your life and start taking appropriate measures to deal with the stress.
If your score is ranging from 27-40: it indicates that you have HIGH PERCEIVED STRESS, which indicates that there are several areas of your life that have been causing stress in your life. The good news is that there is help available for you. You might benefit from contacting a mental health professional.

In case you feel stressed or you need to talk about anxiety during the pandemic, feel free to reach out to our mental health professionals today on the MFine app! You can also help out people with chronic health conditions by forwarding a doctor to them. Social distancing might have separated us, but it should not stop us from helping others. India, khayal rakhna.

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Written by

Ms. Deepanwita Roy

Consultant Clinical Psychologist (RCI Registered ) at MFine with 7+ years of clinical experience. Prefer a holistic approach in therapeutic practices using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based interventions. My interest areas lie in managing stress, anxiety, depression, sleep problems & providing care & support to the LGBTQIA+ community. Apart from providing regular online consultations, I take interest in writing content related to mental health, engage in conducting webinars for EAP programs and work on research and development.