LifeMatters
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1. Default Section

 

1. Please answer the following demographics. Please note your student number is requested only so that we can match your responses here to those we obtain at another time. All responses are otherwise confidential and anonymous.

2. All of us experience stressors in our daily lives but the impact of different stressors affects people differently. The following section is designed to find out how stressful your present situation is.

A number of stressful situations are given and we ask that you respond to each one in two ways. First you are asked to indicate how well it describes your current situation (How True). Next, you are asked to indicate how stressful you would find each situation. In order to answer the questions you should click on the appropriate button arrayed along a 5-point continuum from 'Not at all' to 'Very Much'.

 Not At AllVery Much
1a. You do not get on with your fellow students (How true)
1b. (How stressful)
2a. You do not get on with your fellow students (How true)
2b. (How stressful)
3a. The university department does not support you (How true)
3b. (How stressful)
4a. Your lecturers are unsupportive (How true)
4b. How stressful)
5a. You feel lonely (How true)
5b. (How stressful)
6a. You are anxious that you may fail at a particular task (How true)
6b. (How stressful)
7a. Your course puts strain on your relationships (How true)
7b. How stressful)
8a. You cannot take time for extracurricular activities (How true)
8b. (How stressful)
9a. You have to concentrate on examinations (How true)
9b. How stressful)
10a.There is a lot of competition between you and your peers (How true)
10b.(How stressful)
11a.You are under financial pressure (How true)
11b.(How stressful)
12a.You have to do a lot of rote learning (How true)
12b.How stressful)
13a.There is limited time for exercise (How true)
13b.(How stressful)
14a.There is limited time for rest (How true)
14b.(How stressful)
15a.You are dependent on the financial support of others (How true)
15b.(How stressful)
16a.There is not enough time to get things done (How true)
16b.How stressful)
17a.The work is boring (How true)
17b.(How stressful)
18a.Facilities for students are inadequate (How true)
18b.(How stressful)
19a.The pressure of work interferes with your home life (How true)
19b.(How stressful)
20a.Fellow students do not pull their weight (How true)
20b.(How stressful)
21a.It is hard for you to talk to your supervisor (How true)
21b.(How stressful)
22a.The pay you receive is poor (How true)
22b.(How stressful)
23a.Your spouse/partner resents the time you spend working (How true)
23b.(How stressful)
24a.You are not getting the credit that you deserve (How true)
24b.(How stressful)
25a.You are given too much responsibility (How true)
25b.(How stressful)
26a.You have no say in the way your course is organised (How true)
26b.(How stressful)
27a.You have no support from people outside the course (How true)
27b.(How stressful)
28a.Your lecturers are not very good at the job (How true)
28b.(How stressful)
29a.You work unsocial hours (How true)
29b.(How stressful)
30a.You get no support from your fellow students (How true)
30b.(How stressful)
31a.Your lecturers do not listen to your views and opinions (How true)
31b.(How stressful)
32a.There is too much discrimination on the course (How true)
32b.(How stressful)
33a.Students less able than you are getting credit (How true)
33b.(How stressful)
34a.There is a lot of complaining among your fellow students (How true)
34b.(How stressful)
35a.Your workload is too high (How true)
35b.(How stressful)
36a.You have to cancel projects with family and friends due to workload (How true)
36b.(How stressful)
37a.You feel isolated on the course (How true)
37b.(How stressful)
38a.You receive inadequate guidance from your lecturers (How true)
38b.(How stressful)
39a.There are not enough support staff (How true)
39b.(How stressful)
40a.Your course has a bad effect on your social life (How true)
40b.(How stressful)
41a.You feel that you are 'going nowhere' on this course (How true)
41b.(How stressful)
42a.There is not much you can do to change your course (How true)
42b.(How stressful)
43a.The consequences of your decisions are very serious (How true)
43b.(How stressful)
44a.You have to deal with terminally ill patients (How true)
44b.(How stressful)
45a.You have to deal with chronic patients (How true)
45b.(How stressful)
46a.You fear picking up infection from patients (How true)
46b.Y(How stressful)
47a.You have to discuss personally sensitive matters (How true)
47b.(How stressful)

3. We all react to stress in different ways. Below are 23 common ways that people do react when under great stress. Please indicate, by clicking on an answer ranging from Not At All Like Me to Very Like Me, how well each reaction describes you when you find yourself under stress.

When I am under a lot of stress I:-

 Not at all Like MeVery Like Me
Accept the situation and learn to live with it
Talk things over with a friend
Get depressed
Think of people who are in worse positions than me
Try to be as objective and unemotional as possible
Take comfort in doing other things (eg watching a lot of TV)
Simply give in and wait for the inevitable outcome
Tell myself 'it could be worse'
Shout at someone
Break the problem into small parts and tackle each one separately
Have a drink and try to forget
Stall people as much as possible to keep them off my back
Seek advice from others
Lose sleep
Tell myself that it will soon be over
Take it out on a partner or friend
Start smoking a lot or indulge in comfort eating
Take time off work
Try to gain the support of others
Become highly anxious
Think about my next holiday or break
Have an emotional outburst
Turn to my religion for support

4. This section is designed to find out about the personal resources you have for managing stress. We include this section due to the fact that susceptibility to stress has been found to be linked to the personality of the individual. We hope the questions are not too intrusive although some may seem a bit odd. Please use the following scale to indicate how true each of the following statements is for you.

 Not at all Like MeVery Like Me
I always take a measured look at a job to be done before starting it.
When I am feeling down I try to find people to talk things through
I am in complete control of my temper
My mood is very changeable
Having to tolerate delays of any kind is very irritating to me
I prefer to assume complete responsibility rather than share it with others
I do not suffer fools gladly
I am able to focus on one thing when necessary
I take pride in getting a job done faster than most other people
I am sensitive to criticism or unkind comment
I like to work to deadlines
I am able to say ‘no’ to people when I need to
My sexual needs are largely unsatisfied
I usually try to deal with problems in an organised and systematic way.
I quite often feel guilty for no good reason
I often feel ‘strung up’ and agitated
I feel that I am as good as the next person.
When confronted with a problem I can remain optimistic about the outcome
I get impatient and angry with incompetence and inefficiency
From time to time I feel upset, shaky and sweaty
I get irritable and bad-tempered rather too easily
I drive myself harder than most
I can usually break down a problem into manageable chunks
I am a worrier and tend to look on the black side of things
I find I can count on the support of my family and friends
I am very ambitious
I tend to get agitated when something goes wrong
I tend to compare myself unfavourably to other people
I feel dissatisfied at work due to things beyond my control.
I know when to speak about my personal problems to others.
When I am faced with obstacles, I remember times when I faced similar obstacles and overcame them.
I generally expect to fail when I try something new.
My mood has little effect on how I deal with new problems.
Other people find it easy to confide in me.
I find it hard to understand the non-verbal messages of other people
Some of the major events of my life have led me to re-evaluate what is important and not important.
I sometimes can’t tell whether someone I am conversing with is serious or joking.
When my mood changes I can see new possibilities.
Emotions don’t have much effect on my quality of life.
I am aware of my emotions as I experience them.
I generally don’t expect good things to happen.
When trying to solve a problem in my life, I find it helpful to be as unemotional as possible.
I prefer to keep my emotions private.
When I experience a positive emotion, I know how to make it last.
I arrange events others enjoy.
I quite often misread what is going on in social situations.
I seek out activities to make me happy.
I am aware of the non-verbal messages that I send others.
I have little interest in the impression I make on others.
When I am in a positive mood, solving problems is easy for me.
I tend to misread people’s facial expressions.
I don’t believe that my emotions give any help in coming up with new ideas.
I often don’t know why my emotions change.
I don’t find that being in a positive mood helps me come up with new ideas.
I find it hard to control my emotions.
I easily recognize my emotions as I experience them.
People have told me that I am difficult to talk to.
I motivate myself by imagining a good outcome to tasks I take on.
I compliment others when they have done something well.
I am aware of the non-verbal messages other people send.
When another person tells me about an important event in his or her life, I almost feel as though I have experienced the event myself.
When I feel a change in emotions, I tend to come up with new ideas.
Emotions don’t play a big part in how I deal with problems.
When faced with a challenge, I give up because I believe I will fail.
I know what other people are feeling just by looking at them.
I help other people feel better when they are down.
I use good moods to help myself keep trying in the face of obstacles.
I find it hard to tell how someone is feeling from their tone of voice.
It is difficult for me to understand why people feel the way they do.
I find it hard to make close friendships.
I have recently felt tense or ‘wound up’
I still enjoy the things I used to enjoy
I get a sort of frightened feeling as if something awful is about to happen
I can laugh and see the funny side of things
Worrying thoughts go through my mind
I generally feel cheerful
I can sit at ease and feel relaxed
I often feel as if I am slowed down
I sometimes get a frightened feeling like ‘butterflies in the stomach
I have lost interest in my appearance
I feel restless as if I have to be on the move
I look forward with enjoyment to things
I get sudden feelings of panic
I can enjoy a good book or radio or TV programme
I am the life of the party
I feel little concern for others
I am always prepared
I get stressed out easily
I have a rich vocabulary
I don't talk a lot
I am interested in people
I leave my belongings around
I am relaxed most of the time
I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas
I feel comfortable around people
I often insult people
I pay attention to details
I worry about things
I have a vivid imagination
I keep in the background
I sympathize with others' feelings
I make a mess of things.
I seldom feel blue
I am not interested in abstract ideas
I start conversations
I am not interested in the problems of others
I get chores done right away
I am easily disturbed
I have excellent ideas
I have little to say
I have a soft heart
I get upset easily
I do not have a good imagination
I talk to a lot of different people at parties
I am not really interested in others
I like order
I change my mood a lot
I am quick to understand things
I don't like to draw attention to myself
I take time out for others
I shirk my duties
I have frequent mood swings
I use difficult words
I don't mind being the centre of attention
I feel others' emotions
I follow a schedule
I get irritated easily
I spend time reflecting on things
I am quiet around strangers
I make people feel at ease
I am exacting in my work.
I often feel blue
I am full of ideas
I often forget to put things back in their proper place

5. When we are under stress our physical health, our feelings and our behaviours are often affected. Here we are interested to know whether you have noticed any such changes in yourself. Please click on each of the symptoms, feelings or behaviours listed below if you have noticed an increase in over the last year to the point of causing you some concern.

 Noticed a Change
Dry Mouth
Feelings of Distrust
Nagging others
Colds
Feelings of Martyrdom
Using people
Appetite Change
Lack of intimacy
Nervous Laughter
Headaches
Loss of direction
Fewer contacts with friends
Tension
Cynicism
Self Medication
Fatigue
Apathy
Alcohol use
Insomnia
Feeling a need to prove oneself
Accident Proneness
Weight Change
Frustration
Looking for quick fixes
Crying Spells
Bad temper
Blaming God or another
Muscle Aches
Feeling 'Blue'
Hiding from others
Digestive Upsets
Dull Senses
Lashing out at others
Pounding Heart
Resentment
Low Productivity
Nightmares
Negative attitude
Clamming up
Teeth Grinding
Feeling no none cares
Being unforgiving of others
Nightmares
Irritability
Worrying
Mood swings
Feeling easily discouraged
Foot tapping
Forgetfulness
Feeling little joy
Finger Drumming
Lowered sex drive
Loss of meaning
Depression
Feelings of doubt
Anxiety
Loneliness
Mood swings
Feelings of emptiness
Intollerance
Feelings of Isolation
Drug use