Understanding your current stress profile

While we all experience stress, it does not always look or feel the same, and it has different impacts. We can broadly think about stress in three categories from a time-based perspective.

Acute stress
This type of stress is temporary in nature and often occurs in response to a challenge or a moment when we are asking ourselves, or being asked, to step up in some way. It can be energising if it is managed well.

Episodic acute stress
Generally this is uncomfortable but temporary, lifting once the situation has passed. However, if these temporary spikes come too often, they can start to feel relentless and exhausting.

Chronic stress
The kind of stress that can cause real problems is chronic stress. This type is distressing, it lingers, it disrupts your ability to sleep, saps energy and motivation, and will negatively impact performance and relationships.

The following questions will give you a way to landmark the impacts of stress in your life right now, to reflect on how things have changed over time, and to clarify where you would like to make improvements going forward.

These questions are designed to elicit your subjective responses, how you feel about your experience. They will give you a snapshot of how you see and feel things today. The benefit is that this captures your lived experience in the moment and provides a marker you can revisit over time. The limitation is that it is not scientific or diagnostic, and your responses may shift depending on mood, memory, or circumstances.

A useful way to use this tool is to fill it in and consider how it might help you move forward in a proactive and sensitive way. You can return to it periodically, once every quarter is a good checkpoint, and see how your results are trending.

Alternatively, you might want to use it as a starting point in a session with me. We can take 30 minutes to look at your answers together, make sense of what you are experiencing, and work out next steps.

If it feels helpful, you could also use it as a tool to discuss with your GP, counsellor, or other support people.