Several years ago my wife and I were concerned that students who had significant reading disabilities might show undetected but high levels of stress. We were worried that no one seemed to have done any research on the impact of a reading disability on emotional well-being, specifically stress. We identified a cohort of fourth graders who had a serious reading disability and we measured their stress levels using a ’self-report’ system, that is, a pencil and paper survey. We were delighted to find that at least in this sample of boys in this particular school that while the boys were significant underachievers in reading, their stress levels were normal and no stress relief program was necessary.

Do you think it would be reasonable for you to measure your stress levels? You want to relieve your stress? Do you think your results would be accurate using a self-report instrument? The answer is - ‘Yes’. You can measure your own stress levels just as easily and reliably as you can tell a psychologist how well you feel, your level of depression and anxiety and so on. When people start to understand themselves and become attuned to the variations in their ‘wellness’, they CAN report reliably. After all, emotional well-being is a person and subjective business, isn’t it?

By providing a urine sample for analysis, you can have a physiological measure of stress. You can also measure cortisol in the bloodstream using a blood sample. There is a correlation between increases in cortisol and elevated levels of stress. There are the physical responses too. Elevated stress manifests itself in high blood pressure, increased heart rate, flushing and skin rashes. Some people have headaches, migraines and symptoms of aura display.

If you want to find out about your stress levels you can use online testing. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that these tests are reliable. I use a structured self-report system to measure my patients’ stress. I need to be able to keep track of stress changes with my patients so measure them several times over several months. To know if my stress relief therapy is effective I need frequent measures.

The emotions that I explore include instances of feeling worried, uneasy, upset, tired, nauseous and variable in mood. You can characterise stress behaviour in four different groups. Some people have cognitive or thinking changes, others have interpersonal difficulties, some have physiological and physical responses, and most had changes in emotional well-being.

Why is it important to know your levels of stress? The more you know, the easier it is to manage the stress and anxiety. I believe that we should know and understand ‘the enemy’. High levels of stress, being stressed out, experiencing burnout are all symptoms of a system that is disordered and unproductive. Small amounts of stress can be very helpful to us but excessive stress levels are seriously disabling. So we need information on stress. We need to know how stressed we are. We need to be able to identify the stressors. To get the best out of stress relief therapy, we need to know how to respond to stress. I have identified 15 ways that people typically respond to stress. The trick is to choose those responses and stress management strategies that work best and fastest. Life is too short to waste valuable time being miserable.

One of the odd things about stress is that we tend to create relationship problems because we are tense, anxious and worried. The sad part of this is that the best form of stress relief is social support. Being able to share our feelings with a friend or loved one reduces stress and tension. And this costs nothing. A trouble shared is often a trouble halved. Of course sometimes the issues are much more difficult to manage. A good case in point is the current problems many people are experiencing in regard to home loans and mortgage foreclosures. These and other more serious stressors require professional help.

There is a lot written about stress but I hope that my particular view about stress relief and stress management is helpful. I really want to be able to help people manage their stress. If you can engage in effective stress relief programs, even if you run them yourself, you will have a happier and more successful life.