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Results:
Mild Indication of High Stress.
My answers to this questionnaire suggest that I have symptoms common among others with high stress.

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Psycom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986

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Your Score: Mild Indication of High Stress

Your answers suggest a Mild indication that you have symptoms common among people with high stress. However, this quiz is no substitute for a proper diagnosis from a health care professional and we would encourage you to schedule an appointment with your doctor or other mental health professional now.

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Disclaimer: We sometimes list on this page products we think are useful for our audience. We may earn a small commission if you purchase some products or services through the links provided on this page. Psycom.net was founded by Ivan K. Goldberg, MD, a brilliant psychiatrist and clinical psychopharmacologist, initially as a discussion group [...]

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The stress questionnaire featured on bemindfulonline.com concluded that my stress level is moderate, with a score of 21.
This is an average score that infers a typical amount of stress present in my current state of mind.

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This stress test uses the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Originally created by Cohen et al (1983), it is a highly recognised psychological tool for measuring the perception of stress that's clinically validated and widely used by the NHS and other reputable medical services. It forms part of a wider-ranging self-assessment undertaken by participants of the Be Mindful program, which also includes tests for Depression (PHQ9) and Anxiety (GAD7).

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) measures the degree to which situations in your life are perceived as stressful. The series of questions have been designed to assess how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded you feel your life to be, as well as a direct questione about your current level of experienced stress.

The PSS questions ask about thoughts and feelings during the last month. They are easy to understand and are of a general nature. This makes the test relatively free from bias for or against any specific subpopulation group.

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This simple test will measure the stress in your life using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). No registration required. It forms part of a wider self-assessment including tests for Depression (PHQ9) and Anxiety (GAD7).

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There are a number of different stressful factors that play into a students life, college students in particular. According to Dr. Randall Hansen, the top college stressors are Academic Stress,  Personal Life Stress, Family Stress,  Financial Stress, and Future Stress.
All of these stressors, although not all are currently present, they are all on the minds of college students at all times.
Academic stress is obvious and comes with the territory of being a college student, as well is personal stress and handling everyday relationships. Family stress is found looming as well, as students are away from home but are still apart of the family's activity and having to deal with situations from afar. When it comes to financial and future stressors, these may not be currently present but still produce large amounts of stress and raising questions like how a student will pay off their loans and whether or not they will be able to find a job to do so.

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Top College Stressors That Affect Academic Performance

Stress is inevitable in college, but not all stress is bad. This article indentifies the major sources of stress for college students.

We encourage the reprinting of our articles for educational purposes. If you are interested in reprinting this article, we require that you follow our detailed guidelines. Please go to our

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Article Reprint Guidelines.

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Some people have idyllic visions of what college life is all about -- "the best time of your life" -- and while college is often a positive time for intellectual and personal development, it is also a time filled with stress.

Stress isn't all bad. In fact, moderate levels of stress actually can improve performance. It's when students let the stress build and begin to become overwhelmed with it that academic performance can be adversely affected.

Where does the all stress come from that students face? There are five major stressors for college students: academic, personal, family, financial, and future.

Academic Stress
Attending classes, completing the readings, writing papers, managing projects, and preparing for exams all put a heavy burden on students. Many students complain of professors who assign so much work that they must think theirs is the only class students are taking.

For new college students, the sudden amount of free time -- class that only meet two or three times a week for an hour or so -- leads to the development of bad habits that can hurt academic performance and increase stress levels.

Certainly one of the keys of dealing with academic stress is having good study habits and a time-management system. You should be managing your coursework, not the other way around.

If you are struggling, then seek help from the academic counseling office -- which often has seminars and workshops related to academic performance and study skills -- and your professors.

Personal Stress
College is often the first time many students are living independently, and this independence often leads to great stress. College is a time for transitions, and the transition to adulthood may be a hard one for you. Some students come to terms with issues of sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and other deep issues.

You may also face roommate issues and peer pressure to take part in all sorts of activities. You'll also have new friends and significant others who demand your time.

There is also your self-image -- socially, physically, academically -- that can be a major stressor for you. Female students, especially, deal with stress related to weight gain and physical appearance, but all students deal with the stress of how they are perceived. And sometimes it's a vicious cycle, because some people are "stress eaters," so while being stressed about their body they actually eat to deal with the stress.

Finally, there is the rampant use of alcohol and other drugs on many college campuses.

If you're struggling with personal issues, the best place to seek help is from your school's counseling center.

Family Stress
Most students go off to college carrying certain expectations from their families. The pressure to choose the right major and get good grades can be immense. And if you're the first person from your family to attend college, the stress is even greater.

You may also face the stress of family dynamics. Some students are too dependent on their families -- going home every weekend -- while others seek some distance to grow into the person they want to become.

Experts expect family stress to continue, especially with the increasing occurrence of so-called helicopter parents -- those parents (usually baby boomers) who are so involved in their children's lives that they are in almost constant contact.

If you're struggling with family issues, the best thing you can do is keep in touch with them on a regular basis, but also consider seeking help from your school's counseling center.

Financial Stress
There's no question that college costs continue to rise, placing increasing pressure on both students and their families to find a way to foot the bill.

About two-thirds of all college students have student loan debt, with an average $27,000 student loan debt load for graduating college seniors nationwide. And while $27,000 may seem like a lot, considering that public college costs an average of about $14,000 a year and private schools costs $36,000, the debt load could certainly be much higher -- and is much higher for some students.

There are also a lot of other hidden costs related to college, such as books and school supplies, cell phones, personal care and clothing purchases, items to decorate dorm rooms, social outings, fees for joining various student clubs and organizations, and miscellaneous charges and tickets.

Besides the stress of having to have the financial resources to pay all these bills, some college students also work part-time -- either through work-study in college or with a local employer. Because working hours takes away from studying hours, the need to work also causes stress.

If you're struggling with your finances, consider developing a budget and carefully monitoring your money. A trip to your school's financial aid office may also provide some stress relief.

Future Stress
While attending college is about learning and becoming better educated, it is, of course, also about preparing you for a future career. And students who have yet to choose a major or career path feel incremental levels of stress as each semester passes without a clear solution.

Additional stress comes from wanting a better life than your parents, but because the baby boom generation has been one of the most successful, there's even more stress in attempting to do so.

In fact, many students seem to want to avoid the future by taking what we call the "Peter Pan Syndrome," in which you go to great lengths to avoid any kind of discussions about the future (and growing up).

If you're struggling stress related to career issues, make an appointment with your school's career services office and one or more of your professors.

Final Thoughts on Dealing With Stress in College

Stress is everywhere in college. The key for you is first identifying it, owning it, and remembering that not all stress is bad.

How stressed are you? If you are regularly suffering from one or more of these stress symptoms, talk to a trusted professor or staff member, or seek the guidance of a professional from your school's counseling center:

High levels of anxiety

Feelings of depression

Abuse of alcohol/drugs

Over-eating or under-eating

Difficulty making connections

High levels of irritability, mood swings

Constant headaches

Too much -- or not enough -- sleep

Lingering illnesses and aches and pains

Harming yourself

Finally, find tips and tools for happy and healthy living -- including ways to help you deal with stress -- in our sister site, EmpoweringRetreat.com.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key academic terms by going to our College Success Glossary.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is an educator, author, and blogger, as well as founder and CEO of EmpoweringSites.com, a network of empowering and transformative Websites, includingMyCollegeSuccessStory.com. Dr. Hansen has been helping empower people to achieving success his entire adult life. He is also founder ofEmpoweringAdvice.com,EnhanceMyVocabulary.com, andEmpoweringRetreat.com. He is a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. Dr. Hansen is also an educator, teaching business and marketing at the college level for more than 25 years. Learn more by visiting his personal Website,RandallSHansen.com. You can also check outDr. Hansen on Google+, as well asDr. Randall Hansen on LinkedIn.

Tools to Improve Your Life

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Stress is inevitable in college, but not all stress is bad. This article indentifies the major sources of stress for college students. We encourage the reprinting of our articles for educational purposes. If you are interested in reprinting this article, we require that you follow our detailed guidelines.

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Coping is a vital factor in handling stressful situations. For students in particular, coping methods are used to reduce stress levels. According to Samira Bamuhair et al. (2015), here are some coping methods often used by students:

Time Management

Social Support

In addition, students often come to the conclusion of self-blame or responsibility acceptance (Bamuhair et al., 2015).  Successfully utilizing these coping methods leads to students obtaining the ability to "modify situations, resulting in a more adaptive outcome" (Bamuhair et al., 2015, para. 5).

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According to Rith-Najarian et al. (2014), cognitive, biological, and behavioral responses in adults are found to be related to each other. With the linking of these factors, the biopsychosocial model allows for an individual to mentally analyze their personal ability and the situational demands simultaneously (Rith-Najarian et al., 2014) Personal abilities being the skills and knowledge of the individual that are processed pre-task, allowing for the psychological response to be formed (Rith-Najarian et al., 2014).

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The question of how personal experiences and knowledge can  help a client or patient is important to ask when looking at stress through a psychological lens. The ability to relate to the situations and circumstances of a client or patient can make all of the difference when it comes to counseling them  and constructing a plan that combats stress.
Being able to share personal experience allows for a patient to feel less singled out and more comfortable in their interaction with a psychologist, counselor, support group, etc.

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A key part to handling and ultimately overcoming stress is having strong support behind you. Having a core group of people that can guide you in a processes of battling major stressors it vital and arguable the most important factor in this process.
Mental Health America is an organization that specializes in mental health and creating strong supports groups for people in need of recovery. Their well structured website displays numerous resources, whether it being local in-person support groups or online support groups, discussion boards, and blogs.

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Many people find peer support a helpful tool that can aid in their recovery. There are a variety of organizations that offer support groups for consumers, their family members and friends. Some support groups are peer-led, while others may be led by a mental health professional.