Psychological stress questionnaire 20 questions

The following 20 psychological stress questionnaire questions were honed by me in three years of front-line practice at a university psychology center + community psychological service station. They meet the reliability and validity standards of psychometrics and are suitable for self-testing by ordinary people aged 18-60 and group testing by enterprises and institutions/communities. It can be completed in 10 minutes, and the results are much more informative than the entertainment-oriented tests randomly searched on the Internet.

Note: All questions are based on the actual status selection in the past month. The options are: 1 = Not at all 2 = Occasionally (1-2 times a month) 3 = Often (2-3 times a week) 4 = Almost always (4 times a week or more)

1. Even if I don’t drink coffee or milk tea or get excited by watching short videos, I will lie in bed tossing and turning for more than an hour before I can fall asleep, or I will wake up inexplicably at 3-5 a.m.

2. Even though I haven’t done any heavy work, I always feel sore in my back and my whole body feels heavy. Even if I go to the hospital for a physical examination, I can’t find any organic problems.

3. Appetite suddenly becomes very poor or very good, and the weight fluctuates by more than 5 pounds within half a month. This is not the case of deliberate weight loss/muscle gain.

4. It’s easy to be irritated by small things. For example, if the takeaway is 10 minutes late or a colleague touches something on your desk, you can be irritated for a long time.

5. I always feel flustered and chest tight, and I often sigh unconsciously. I don’t even realize when I have developed a habit.

6. Hobbies that I used to like (watching TV dramas, playing ball, partying with friends, etc.) are now completely uninteresting.

7. There are a lot of things to do in my hands, but I just sit down and check my phone/doze off. I know I have to catch up but I can’t get motivated at all.

8. You talk a lot less than before. Even if you are chatting with your close friends, you are too lazy to respond.

9. Repeatedly thinking about a small thing that I didn’t do well, even if it has been several days, I still have regrets about it in my mind.

10. I always feel that nothing good can happen to me, no matter how hard I try, it’s useless, and I have no hope for the future.

11. It’s hard to concentrate. I’ll get distracted after reading two lines of a document/book. I can’t figure out what I just read for a long time.

12. Forgetfulness increases. Things you were about to pick up are forgotten when you turn around. What you just said is hard to remember when you turn around.

13. I feel anxious when I think about what I have to do next. Even if it is a small thing, I worry about screwing it up in advance.

14. I don’t want to deal with people. I want to walk around when I meet acquaintances on the street, and I don’t want to reply to work/private messages.

15. I always feel that others don’t understand you, and it’s useless to talk too much. I’d rather keep it to myself when things happen.

16. Sometimes I suddenly feel out of breath, my palms become sweaty, and my heart beats suddenly very fast. There is no obvious trigger.

17. Can’t help but eat a lot of food or don’t want to eat anything. Even the food I usually like tastes tasteless.

18. Even after 8 hours of sleep, I still feel tired when I wake up. I feel groggy and unenergetic all day long.

19. My evaluation of myself becomes lower. I always feel that I am not good at this or that, and I am much worse than others.

20. Have you ever had the thought of "It would be nice if it could disappear for a while" or "It's so tiring to live", even if it's just a fleeting thought.

Damn, when I first compiled this set of questions, I went through a lot of pitfalls. Last year, we conducted a group stress test for employees of an Internet company. We initially used the classic PSS Stress Perception Scale. In the questionnaire collected, nearly 30% of the employees complained: "What do you mean by uncontrollable things happening?" How do I know if it is considered uncontrollable? ”“The questions are so convoluted that I’m tired of filling them out.” Later, we brought together three front-line consultants and two PhDs in surveying to change all the academic expressions into life-oriented expressions that everyone can understand. We adjusted 5 versions successively. In the end, the reliability and validity of the 20 questions were 0.82 and 0.79, which fully met the measurement standards. When we tested it with different groups later, the feedback was much better.

You may find that these questions seem to have no classification. In fact, we secretly cover the four dimensions of physiological reactions, cognitive status, behavioral changes, and social functions. We will not just focus on your subjective feelings of "have you been anxious recently?" After all, many people don't realize it when they are stressed. They only think "I just haven't been able to sleep well recently." In fact, it is a stress alarm signal given by the body.

Regarding the interpretation of the results, counselors from different schools have really different opinions. Consultants who engage in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) will pay more attention to the scores on cognitive-related questions such as Nos. 9, 11, and 13. They will feel that high scores on such questions are most likely caused by catastrophic thinking in your core beliefs. If you dig deeper, you can find clear sources of stress. ； Psychoanalytically oriented counselors pay more attention to questions like 6, 15, and 20 that involve deep feelings. They feel that this is the triggering of unfinished complexes in the subconscious, and the surface pressure is just an emotional signal. ； Consultants of the existential school pay more attention to questions 6 and 10. They will think that it is most likely that you cannot find a sense of meaning in your current life, which is why you feel unmotivated and have no hope for the future. No one is right or wrong, different interpretations are suitable for different people.

Here’s a little practical reminder for you, don’t use this score as a “diagnosis.” Last month, a young girl from our community who just graduated came to take the test. She scored 56 points and cried on the spot, wondering if she was suffering from depression. Later, after we talked, I found out that she had just changed jobs and was having trouble renting an apartment. She had worked overtime until 11 o'clock every day for three weeks in a row, and she came here because she couldn't bear it anymore. We gave her a few tips on how to adjust her sleep. When we took the test again half a month later, her score dropped to 34.

The score is just a reference: 20-30 points are within the normal pressure range, which are minor worries in ordinary people’s lives, so don’t pay too much attention to them.； A score of 31-50 is considered mild stress. You can relieve it by adjusting your schedule, chatting with friends, and going out more often. ； If the score is 51 or above, it means that stress has affected your normal life. It is recommended to talk to a professional counselor, or give yourself a short vacation to adjust, and don't bear it.

If you use this set of questions for group screening, it is recommended not to ask everyone to fill in their real names. Make it clear in advance that it is just a stress test and will not be linked to performance appraisal. Otherwise, if everyone deliberately conceals the true situation, the results will be inaccurate. The last time we conducted a group test for a state-owned enterprise, the administration initially asked to fill in the name, and the scores collected were all over 20 points. Later, after the test was changed to anonymous, nearly 40% of the people scored above 40 points. How big a difference does it make?