Introduction

Forty-three years have passed since Rodale Press published the first

popular work on the theme of well-being. The title, “Senior Wellness: An Alternative to Doctors, Drugs, and Disease,” paid tribute to Halbert L. Dunn, a physician who coined the phrase “Senior Wellness” and used it to promote personal responsibility. for health and happiness, including daily attention to sufficient exercise, scientific nutrition, exuberant living and environmental sensitivity. As early as the 1950s and early 1960s, Dr. Dunn promoted a shift in emphasis from continued dependence on health care for chronic diseases and diseases caused in large part by poor lifestyle choices and dangerous environments.

Despite the growth of a wellness movement, the emphasis is still on treatment and cure, rather than prevention and wellness. This fact is one of the many main reasons why the US health care system now costs $ 3.2 trillion a year. In my opinion, the focus on chronic disease and the attendant neglect of life enrichment is the single most important reason for this staggering level of medical spending, unmatched anywhere else in the world.

A simple version of my stress test self-assessment appeared in that 1977 book mentioned above. I have expanded it over the years. The test has always been designed to give a broad sense of a variety of factors that can lead to emotional and mental stresses of an unpleasant nature, which is basically the meaning of stress, although the term has also been interpreted to include such occasional stresses by factors positive, such as overexcitability caused by sudden and extreme good fortune. (Personally, I always appreciated such stress and still do.)

Basically, however, too many positive or negative stressors that are not handled well will cause health disorders and others that range from misery to ruin. My stress test, which remains a self-assessment tool after many expansions over the years, remains a self-report instrument intended for personal understanding. It is not a test in any technical sense. Unless validated under controlled conditions over time with scientific rigor, it will only serve the purpose of self-awareness and understanding of areas that deserve attention. Which, by the way, always was and still is the intention.

Stress

Many books have been written on the phenomenon of stress. It is a popular term in our culture and receives a lot of attention in various workplace health promotion programs. Among human beings, there are important individual differences in the way people respond to and handle stressors at different times and in various circumstances. What stresses you can, paradoxically, delight me, and vice versa. People thrive on and suffer from stress in their lives in a wide range of ways. Therefore, any stress self-assessment that increases awareness should lead to less suffering and more prosperity. That seems like a very good thing.

If effective stress management is as beneficial to health as experts in this specialty field claim, the benefits of mastery are considerable. A partial list of benefits includes less brain shrinkage (!), Better emotional health, better handling of distressing events, aid in concentration, sharper focus, less presenteeism, expanded potentials, lower risk of dementia, and improved sleep cycles.

In summary, the following stress test is a

life satisfaction assessment or survey to date. It should help you embark on or add to a wellness mindset and lifestyle.

We can all improve our ability to handle stress. This test should be helpful in exploring problems and concerns that lead to positive resolutions of many challenging situations.

The rating scale

The Ardell Wellness Stress Test, updated and expanded many times from the small chapter on “High Level Wellness”, now incorporates physical, mental, emotional, spiritual (ie meaning and purpose) and social aspects of wellness. This is one of the reasons why many users report that the test is useful: it offers a balanced assessment of various sources of stress based on a six-point scale, in addition to a neutral option indicating that there are no associated positive or negative emotions. with a certain element. Simply rate your satisfaction positive or negative for each item.

• Enter “+3” if your satisfaction with how life is currently going with respect to the category listed is “exuberant to ecstatic”, as good or positive as could reasonably be expected or desired.

• Enter “+2” if your satisfaction level in the category is “very happy to fairly satisfied”.

• Enter “+1” if your satisfaction level is “OK to slightly satisfactory”.

• Enter “0” if its more precise meaning is “not sure” to “no problem”.

• Enter “-1” if the most accurate answer appears to be “slightly disappointed” to “not quite right”.

• Enter “-2” if the best / best answer is “very disappointed” to “quite unhappy with this.”

• Enter “-3” if you feel about the problem at hand: “I’m on the road to nowhere” to “I think I’m about to fall off a cliff.”

With this scoring system, enter a number to the left of each factor regarding the amount of positive or negative stress it generates. When you have completed all 25, add up your score and read the assessment of your stress situation.

The final recommendation when testing and scoring are complete, no matter what your score is, is to become familiar with and commit to a REAL wellness mindset / lifestyle. REAL wellness means lifestyles and mindsets driven by reason, inspired by exuberance, backed by

athletics and freedom enabled.

The self-assessment test

_____ 1. Choice of profession or career

_____ 2. Current job or ability to earn a satisfactory living

_____ 3. Marital or partner status

_____ 4. Main relationships (family and best friends)

_____ 5. Ability to have fun and the extent to which you regularly experience good times.

_____ 6. Number of recent times you felt exuberant, filled with the feeling that “life is good”

_____ 7. Financial situation and future prospects

_____ 8. Sense of who you are and how you are evolving (self-respect and confidence)

_____ 9. Meaning and purpose in life (includes “spirituality”)

_____ 10. Level of self-esteem and estimation of how others see you

_____ 11. Prospects of having an impact on those who know you and possibly others

_____ 12. Sex life

_____ 13. Body, how it looks and works

_____ 14. Home life, including variety of interests and passions

_____ 15. Life skills and education: knowledge of problems and facts unrelated to your job or profession.

_____ 16. Ability to cope with changes, crises, setbacks and all kinds of unexpected situations

_____ 17. Nutritional knowledge, attitudes and consumption patterns

_____ 18. Ability to heal from disappointments, hurts, and tragedies

_____ 19. Potentials

_____ 20. A variety of interests and a balanced quality of life

_____ 21. Feel that life for you is on an upward curve, improving and filling all the time

_____ 22. Level of participation in issues and concerns beyond their immediate interests

_____ 23. Parenting choices and styles / principles for parenting

children’s orientation

_____ 24. Role with the network of friends, family and / or others

_____ 25. Emotional acceptance of the inescapable reality of aging, decline, and death

Add the plus number and subtract the minus numbers. Write the total in this space: ______

Interpretation:

+60 to +75: You’re in a very good place overall, and you’re unlikely to be significantly concerned about stressors on a consistent basis. You have many positive factors in your life that, more than any stress management

The technique (eg, deep breathing, meditation, etc.) will make you largely immune to the adverse effects of negative emotions when dealing with what life has to offer. There are few challenges that are likely to divert you from an ongoing sense of near well-being as long as your satisfaction

the level is still as high as indicated in this assessment.

• 36 to + 59: You are doing well, much better than most. You should find the information available on the concept of wellness attractive and consistent with your movement towards effective and healthy living. You already have a well-honed ability to deal creatively and efficiently with events and circumstances. Further advancements should be easy for you. All good wishes to keep going as you learn new skills, particularly in the areas of critical thinking, exuberant life experience, physical fitness, and expanding your personal freedoms and options.

• 20 to +35: You have a well-founded appreciation of the importance of lifestyle choices in affecting the quality of your life. Learn the value of personal responsibility, a supportive environment, and the cumulative positive effects of small changes over time. In the coming months, invest additional energy in learning ways to strengthen certain areas. You can increase your satisfactions while reducing your stressors.

• 0 to +19: You can clearly benefit from a modest investment in learning ways to reduce stress and increase pleasures. A flurry of negative circumstances could lead to emotional setbacks. Take steps now to avoid slowing your steady progression toward mastering good living and self-efficacy.

The following recommendation applies to the above score range (0 to +19) and the following three score ranges: Review the stressors identified in the 25 statements. Search Google or otherwise at least basic information about these crucial stress-related problems. Retake the test after you have done this reading and, where appropriate, practiced selected techniques and perspectives.

• -1 to – 17. Your ability to use basic REAL wellness skills is inhibited by insufficient handling of the stressors in your life. These four key skill areas are 1) the use of reason-based decision-making, 2) the enjoyment of exuberant life qualities, 3) the practice of the two keys to athletics (exercise and smart nutrition), and 4 ) the ability to break free from self-imposed restrictions on your personal freedoms. This is a mental health problem with considerable consequences.

• -18 to -37 – Everyday stress that interferes with the good life is a serious problem and deserves your attention. Stress of a constant negative nature in life will jeopardize your motivation to choose wisely and maintain the energy level necessary for good health and a pleasant life. You are a candidate for counseling. Either you are too pessimistic or you have serious trouble dealing with stress.

• -38 to -75 – Oh my gosh. What do you do for a living? Are you the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il, ruling dictator of the Hermit Kingdom? Do you work in the Trump White House? Something, many things, must be done to lighten the load, to remove much of the stress from your life.

Let’s look on the bright side for a moment: He’s still alive, managed to complete the test without suffering a cardiac event, and probably has a sense of humor, more or less. But seriously, if you’re really as stressed out as this little set of awareness raising questions indicates, it’s time to have a chat with a wellness professional.

Thank you for taking my stress self-assessment test.

All best wishes. Take care of yourself.