Stress Level Tracker

Ten-statement perceived stress check-in scoring how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded your last month has felt.

By Marshkalk

Thinking about the last month, choose how often each statement applied to you. This takes about two minutes.

1. Something unexpected left you upset or threw you off track.
2. You felt unable to control the important things happening in your life.
3. You felt nervous or generally stressed.
4. You felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems.
5. You felt that things were going the way you wanted.
6. You found you could not cope with everything you had to do.
7. You were able to control irritations in your daily life.
8. You felt on top of things.
9. You felt angry about things that were outside your control.
10. Difficulties were piling up so high you could not overcome them.

What this tool is built on

The ten statements below are an original wording built around the themes studied by the Perceived Stress Scale, a widely used approach in psychological research for measuring how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded someone finds their life over a set period. This tool does not reproduce any copyrighted questionnaire.

Reading your score

Four of the ten statements are worded positively, so answering them frequently actually lowers your score rather than raising it. Your total sits between 0 and 40. As a rough guide, 0 to 13 is read as low perceived stress, 14 to 26 as moderate, and 27 to 40 as high.

What the score does not tell you

This is a snapshot of the past month, not a clinical assessment. It says nothing about the cause of your stress, the resources you have to cope with it, or whether you meet the criteria for any diagnosis such as anxiety or depression.

When to seek support

If your score is high, if this has lasted several weeks, or if you are experiencing significant distress, speak to your GP, an occupational health service, or a counsellor. In the UK, Samaritans offer free, confidential support at any time on 116 123.

This tool is not a medical or psychological diagnostic device. It does not replace assessment by a qualified professional under any circumstances. Your answers stay in your browser only for the duration of this page, nothing is saved or sent to a server.