Anxiety, Depression and Life Stressors

A lot of folks come to see me complaining of anxiety, irritability, depression, mood swings or insomnia and trying to understand what's causing this change in their emotions and behavior.  It's sad, but many of don't realize the effects of stress on our thoughts, feelings and behaviors.  It's also sad that most of us are so out of touch with ourselves that we don't even realize how much stress we are under or that things we are going through might provoke or increase stress.  There is a simple, free online quiz that will make you more aware of stressors in your life.

Dr. Bret Emery has reproduced the Life Stress Inventory on his website.  The Life Stress Inventory is the same inventory I and most other therapists would hand to you if you came to our offices.  It is a simple quiz that allows you to analyze the level of stress you are under and make you aware of things which might cause stress you might otherwise be oblivious to.  It lists several causes of stress and gives each a score depending on how severe the stressor is.  This can be an important tool in making yourself aware of how much stress you are actually under.  Why would you not know this already?

While most of us realize that getting fired, losing a loved one, getting divorced or having an accident will cause stress, there are a lot of "happy" events which can also cause stress.  An excellent example is retirement.  Most of us would assume that entering retirement is something which should make you happy.  But it can also bring a lot of stress as you are faced with a lot of empty days and without the routine of going to work which has governed a large part of your life for the majority of your life.  Retirement can also bring a great deal of isolation if the majority of your social network was built around your work.  Being pregnant is also perceived to be a largely happy time, but it too can bring a lot of stressors.  Not only is your body undergoing major biological changes, but these changes provoke a lot of emotional reactions to things like huge hormonal shifts and gaining a lot of weight. 

Welcoming a new member of the family (whether a newborn or an aging parent), moving, getting a new job, having a child leave home or buying a new home are usually happy events.  But they can also create a lot of stress as we adapt to major changes.  Humans are creatures of habit and changing those habits means adding stress.  If you make a lot of changes within a short amount of time you incur a lot of stress.  So the fact that you got married in September, landed that great new job in another state in October, moved into your new house (together) in November, celebrated Christmas in December and took a vacation in January may just be what is making you want to rip someone's head off. 

Try the test and see what your score is.  It is free, you do not sign up for anything or divulge any personal information.