So the governments are giving the banks stress tests? What about us? This is as if material things are more important than us—is there any love here? One wonders. You may also be wondering where your next meal will be coming from, or whether you will get another job…

And you may not be sure whether you will get the custody of your child if you have just received a divorce notice–common if you lose your job. Then, this related and usually forgotten one (but equally important): you may have just been rejected by a loved one or a prospective love.

Such may be the diversity of the issues that you may feel boxed into at the moment–and you may be shy to seek help (not all of us go about cleaning our linen in the public)…

The bottom line of all this is that no single government may have offered you the stress test and least likely is a confidential one. In this situation you may be better off turning to the following strategies:

1. Turn to the Social Readjustment Rating Scale:

Scientists (they seem to care more) have developed an approach which assesses the effects of stressors according to life changes or events in our lives. On this scale, your crisis can be scored from zero to hundred depending on its rating. The more crises you are in the more the score. An additive score of 300 and above requires professional help.

2. Use the Burn out scale:

You may already be displaying signs and symptoms of stress but you may not realize their significance. This is understandable because most of the signs and symptoms are common for many other ailments including ‘flu’ (a sensitive area that we will not touch today). Such symptoms can be rated on the so-called Burn Out scale, thanks to the above guys once again.

3. Take Personality Tests:

Some personalities are known to deal with stressors more effectively than others—and understandably so. So finding out what your exact personality actually is will help you know where you stand. Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom…Tao Te Ching. One such test can be found at www.personality100.com if a psychologist is hard to come by.

Taking these tests is only a beginning. When we take tests, all of us want to pass. Passing these tests will mean that we deal with our stressors more effectively prior to these tests. One sure way is to engage in the following techniques:

4. Intellectualization

If you sit down and figure out your real problems, you will be better able to deal with your crisis. Instead of using emotion, be objective to calculate the issues at hand. This is known as intellectualization. Sit down, get a pen and jot some notes–make some divisions, subtractions, multiplications and additions. You may just solve the jig-saw puzzle.  This way, you will be better able to cope with your stress, meaning that you will be better able to score high on the tests.

5. Rationalization:

Rationalization may then need to be engaged, here you may have to re-adjust your thoughts and believes about life. You may have to come to terms with things you previously never considered highly. And those you believed in may have to be dropped altogether—that’s life. This means that you will need to come up with plausible justifications for your new approach in life to convince yourself. This is called rationalization.

6. Modify Diet.

There are many other techniques available but for quick help we will limit ourselves to a few which must include dietary modifications. Foods containing caffeine must be avoided. Many of these are popular including coffee, coke and chocolate and it may be hard to change.  Alcohol and tobacco are obvious taboos in stress management.

All theses strategies and many more are conveniently explained in the concise and interactive book, ’7 Proven Steps: How to Defeat Stress without Going Through the Embarrassment of Counseling’ available on Amazon and other major bookstores.