Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 5: Signs and Symptoms of Stress (Continued)

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 5

Thursday, March 28, 2013 PGY 40 Day #249


The Stress Management Workbook (Continued)

In February, we posted the first section on Signs and Symptoms of Stress.  Today, we will complete that chapter. 

Signs and
Symptoms of
Stress

 In our last Stress Management Workbook post (February 13, 2013), we shared scales to help you quantify SYMPTOMS OF STRESS.  Today, we will share the pages that cover SIGNS OF STRESS.

We now go back to The Stress Management Workbook: An Action Plan for Taking Control of Your Life and Health by Aronson and Mascia, Appelton - Century - Crofts / New York, Copyright MFM & SRA 1979 & 1981

Page 11 -  

If your score is high and you have not seen a physician for evaluation of your symptoms, you should do so in order to exclude the possibility of serious illness. If serious illness has been excluded by your physician, there are several other approaches to relieving stress-induced symptoms.  If you scored higher on numbers 1-7, 11, 12, 15, 18, 21, 22, and 25 (those marked “A”), you are more likely to benefit from some active form of relaxation, such as running, jogging, tennis, or some other form of exercise.  If you had a predominance of high scores on numbers 14, 16, 17, and 19 (those marked “P”), you may be more likely to benefit from some passive form of relaxation, such as meditation, yoga, deep-muscle relaxation, or self-hypnosis.  If you have a balance of the two types of symptoms, you may benefit more from a combination of the two forms of relaxation.  (You may have noticed that not all the numbers have been listed in this review.  The reason is that those particular symptoms are a mixed variety and do not tend to fall within either category.)  If the symptoms you are experiencing are debilitating, persistent, or severe, check with your doctor to exclude serious illness or at least the possibility of a need for treatment.


SIGNS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS

Signs:Objective or observable external evidence of internal, physiological change.  Signs and symptoms sometimes go together to define a pathological condition or disease.  However, some signs are usually representative of psychosocial stress and rarely indicate disease.  A physician may have to make that determination.


LIST OF SIGNS
Increased alcohol use
Changes in posture
Increased drug use
Hyperventilation
Increased tobacco use
Lack of control
Weight gain
Increased spending of money
Weight loss
Reckless behavior
Increased activity
Poor judgment
Reduced activity
Increased sexual activity
Pacing the floor
Reduced sexual activity
Wringing hands
Loss of effectiveness at work
Worried look
Increased eating
Throwing objects
Reduced eating
Kicking objects
Other
Slamming objects



            The following scale is designed to help measure your signs of stress.  These signs are frequently seen with psychosocial stress and rarely represent disease.  Please fill out the following form.
 

 

12                                    THE STRESS MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK


SCALE 2-SIGNS OF STRESS
Please respond to the following statements.
            2                                                          1                                                    X
TWO
WEEKS
PAST
STRESSFUL
WEEKSTIMES


I have or those around me have noticed:


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________



__________


__________




__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________



__________


__________




1. I have gained or lost weight.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
2. I have increased or reduced my physical activity.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
3. I pace the floor.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
4. I wring my hands.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
5. I have a worried look.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
6. I throw, kick, or slam objects.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
7. I have changed my posture (for example, hanging head down, shuffling my feet, drooped shoulders).
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
8. I hyperventilate (rapid breathing).
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
9. I lack control (for example, yelling, intolerance, lack of patience, etc.).
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
       Yes                                          No                               Do Not Know
                                                                                                                                    continued         

 Page 13

__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________



__________


__________
__________
__________
__________________
__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________


__________



__________


__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
10. I have increased my drug use (e.g. alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, marijuana, etc.).
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
11. I have increased my spending of money.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
12. My behavior seems reckless.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
13.I have increased sexual desire.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
14. I have reduced sexual desire.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
15. I am less effective at work.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
16. I have increased or reduced appetite.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
17. I bite my fingernails.
Comment: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
18.Other ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________



       Yes                                          No                               Do Not Know
                                                                                                                      

Page 14

 

The higher your score in the first column, the more likely you are to be under excess stress now.  The higher your score in the second column, the more likely you were to have been reacting to excess stress at those particularly bad times you happen to remember.  The lower your scores, the less likely you are to be experiencing or to have experienced excess stress.  Remember, if your scores are high and you have not seen a doctor recently, you should check with your physician in order to exclude serious illness.  If your scores are high and you do not have a serious illness, then you are likely to benefit from one of the many relaxation methods described in Chapter 4 in combination with a reduction of the stress load you are experiencing.
            In any case, if the signs and symptoms are debilitating (exhausting), persistent, or severe, check with your doctor in order to exclude serious illness or the need for professional treatment.


and

Dr. Mike  
 
PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH THIS BLOG, OR THROUGH MY EMAIL ADDRESS Dr.Mike@ihealsolutions.com for COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR SUGGESTIONS ...
 
"Have fun and be careful out there!"
                                     

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