Resilience: Quiz 2.2: How do you respond to stress?

9:00am Tuesday, October 7th: It is about a month into the school year and you have a fitness goal you want to reach by the winter break. You’ve been on track so far, but assignments and life are starting to get a bit busy. How stressed does this make you feel?

11:00am Friday, October 10th: You plan your workouts for next week, but then realize you also have 3 midterms next week. You debate whether you should still try to complete all workouts with all the studying you’ll have to do. How stressed does this make you feel?

4:45pm Tuesday, October 14th: On top of your fitness goal and midterms, you are currently working on a project due next week – at least it’s after all the midterms. You have to present this project with a partner, so need to find time to meet this weekend since your week is jam packed already. How stressed does this make you feel?

10:30pm Sunday, October 19th: You made it through a tough week of midterms, though you missed one of your workouts because Saturday afternoon was the only time you and your partner could find to work on your project. Your presentation is tomorrow morning and your partner just texted you to say they are sick and you will have to present alone. How stressed does this make you feel?

5:15pm Tuesday, October 21st: You’re still on track with your fitness goal and your presentation didn’t go as well as you hoped. You’re planning your weekend and realize you will be very busy since last weekend was 100% school-focused. You have to go grocery shopping, do household chores, bring your cat to the vet and have an 8-hour shift at work. How stressed does this make you feel?

9:30am Saturday, October 25th: You start tackling the tasks on your busy weekend. You suddenly remember you have an assignment due Sunday at midnight that you haven’t started. You were hoping to go to the gym to stay on track with your fitness goal. How stressed does this make you feel?

2:00pm Saturday, October 25th: Your friend sends you a message about a party going on tonight and wants you to go with them. You want to go, but you still have an assignment, chores, and want to go to the gym. How stressed does this make you feel?

10:00am Sunday, October 26th: You ended up going to the party after all, and wake up the night after the party feeling very sluggish after a late night. You have not started the assignment due in 14 hours and forgot to go to the gym. How stressed does this make you feel?

10:45am Monday, October 27th: You stayed up late last night completing your assignment and submitted it just before the deadline. You slept through your alarm this morning and you have a class you do not really enjoy that begins at 11:35am. As you’re rushing to get ready, you get a notification from Brightspace saying your grade from your presentation was 60%. You are already frustrated because you wanted to go to the gym this morning. You get to the bus stop and realize the next one comes in 20 minutes and you will be late for class. How stressed does this make you feel?

7:30am Tuesday, October 28th: It’s the morning of one of your in-class midterms. You hardly slept last night because you were tossing and turning and only got about 4 hours of sleep. This midterm is also for the class that you dislike and you’re still thinking about the low presentation mark that was just returned. How stressed does this make you feel?

6:30pm Wednesday, October 29th: You requested time off from your part-time job for 2 midterms and a presentation you have next week. It was approved weeks ago, but when your schedule came out today, you notice one of your shifts is scheduled the evening before one of your exams. You remind your boss you requested the time off a month ago, but they say you either have to work or find someone to cover your shift. How stressed does this make you feel?

Although individual events may be stressful on their own, when these events pile up, the cumulative effects of multiple stressors can be felt. The ability to effectively manage cumulative stress varies between people, and some of us may be able to balance more demands than others. It’s important to know yourself and reflect on your own limits to identify when the stress has become too much for YOU, so that you can think about how to best respond. We will talk about coping with stress in the next lesson!