Too Busy for Your Own Good (10 page)

0 to 5
You're probably managing your stress well.

6 to 11
You're probably feeling stress so frequently that it seems normal.

11+
Your stress is out of control and needs serious intervention.

Your physical symptoms are signs that your body is reacting to—or rebelling against—how you are handling your life. They are not just symptoms of general stress but a sign that your immunity—your resistance to infection or disease and your response to biochemical, environmental, and psychosocial factors—is being challenged.

Your emotional state says a lot about how you're handling your busyness. All of us have a variety of emotions, and we needn't worry about the occasional overreaction. The key to which of these emotions you feel or exhibit is not that you feel them but the frequency, intensity, and duration of these emotions. Professional mental health care providers use a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association called the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders
, currently in its fourth edition (
DSM-IV
). They are instructed to become concerned when five or more of the following symptoms of depression are present for most of the day nearly every day for at least two weeks.

Which, if any, of these symptoms are you now experiencing?

Irritability with friends and loved ones

Anger at little things or certain people

Temper outbursts or road rage

Escapism or the desire to run away

Memory loss, mental gridlock, or brain fog

Feeling frustrated or discouraged

Inability to make a decision

Feelings of unworthiness or shame

Negativity or resentment

Unfinished grieving for a loss

Loss of attention or concentration

Hypochondria

Feeling down or ready tears