Understand and manage stress
Understanding how you respond to stress is essential for maintaining your well-being.
The self-assessment offers strategies to recognize, examine, acknowledge, and connect to help (REACH):
- Recognize how you respond to change and stress.
- Examine and acknowledge how you typically react to stress (healthy, reaching, injured, ill).
- Connect to help by reviewing the resources for each category.
Review the chart below or download a PDF version. Select the signs and indicators reflecting your experience, complete the REACH steps below and access resources.
This guide is adapted from the Mental Health Commission of Canada's Working Mind Self-Care and Resilience Guide.
| Thriving | Unsettled | Struggling | In crisis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in Mood |
☐ Calm ☐ Confident ☐ Normal mood fluctuations |
☐ Impatient ☐ Irritable ☐ Nervous ☐ Sadness |
☐ Angry ☐ Anxious ☐ Pervasive sadness |
☐ Easily enraged ☐ Excessive anxiety/panic ☐ Depressed mood, numb |
| Changes in Thinking and Attitude |
☐ Able to concentrate and focus on tasks ☐ Good sense of humour ☐ Takes things in stride |
☐ Displaced sarcasm ☐ Intrusive thoughts ☐ Sometimes distracted or lost focus on tasks |
☐ Constantly distracted or cannot focus on tasks ☐ Negative attitude ☐ Recurrent intrusive thoughts/images |
☐ Inability to concentrate, loss of memory or cognitive abilities ☐ Non-compliant ☐ Suicidal thoughts/intent |
| Changes in Behaviour and Performance |
☐ Performing well ☐ Physically and socially active |
☐ Decreased activity/socializing ☐ Procrastination |
☐ Avoidance ☐ Begins to pull away from family ☐ Decreased performance ☐ Tardiness |
☐ Absenteeism ☐ Can’t perform duties/tasks ☐ Is not mentally present at home ☐ Withdrawal |
| Physical Changes |
☐ Feeling energetic ☐ Good appetite ☐ Maintaining a stable weight ☐ Normal sleep patterns |
☐ Changes in eating ☐ Some lack of energy ☐ Some weight loss or gain ☐ Trouble sleeping |
☐ Fluctuations or changes in weight ☐ Loss of appetite ☐ Restless sleep ☐ Some tiredness or fatigue |
☐ Cannot fall/stay asleep ☐ Constant lasting fatigue/exhaustion ☐ Extreme weight loss or gain ☐ No appetite |
| Changes in Addictive Behaviours |
☐ Limited alcohol consumption, no binge drinking ☐ Limited/no addictive behaviours ☐ No trouble/impact (social, economic, legal, financial) due to substance use |
☐ Regular to frequent alcohol consumption, limited binge drinking ☐ Some regular to addictive behaviours ☐ Limited to some trouble/impact due to substance use |
☐ Frequent alcohol consumption, binge drinking ☐ Struggle to control addictive behaviours ☐ Struggle to control addictive behaviours |
☐ Addiction ☐ Regular to frequent binge drinking ☐ Significant trouble/impact due to substance use |
REACH self-assessment
-
Recognize
Recognize warning signs.
Select the signs and indicators in the chart that reflect how you experience stress. Write down any additional changes you notice that are not listed -
Examine and acknowledge
What section did you most relate to how you handle stress?
- Healthy: Am I doing ok?
- Reacting: What has changed?
- Injured: How long have I been feeling this way?
- Ill: I need to access help. Visit the Get and give help web page.
Acknowledge and practice self-compassion
- Acknowledge that what you are going through and the feelings you are experiencing are valid.
- Use mindfulness to recognize negative thoughts and emotions, and observe them in a non-judgmental way.
- Be kind to yourself by using positive self-talk as opposed to being critical.
-
Connect to help
Determine your next steps based on your results.
Healthy: Embed health practices into your daily routines and engage in education and skill-building activities.
Reacting: Focus on the basics: Good sleep, eating well and being physically active. Take time to seek support from friends, family members and colleagues. Visit the Self-help resources web page to review the Wellness Wheel Self-Assessment and develop your self-care action plan.
Injured: Seek professional support, such as our 24/7 Employee Assistance Program.
Ill: Visit the Get and give help web page for immediate support information and additional resources.
