The Stress Diagnostic is a tick-box list of known stress-related symptoms. The idea is to read through the list of symptoms in the Stress Diagnostic and tick all the symptoms you have been experiencing in the past few weeks. The more symptoms you have and the more intense/severe they are, the more stress you are likely to be experiencing.
A common misunderstanding is that psychologists give you advice. This is not what psychologists actually do - their role is far more complex than that. This poster summarises the difference between giving advice and psychotherapy. You can read more in my article Giving Advice Versus Psychotherapy.
Just Culture is the opposite of blame culture.
Just Culture seeks to identify the cause of an issue, instead of merely blaming the ‘other’. By finding the real cause of the failure (i.e. where the system failed), the correct remedial action can be applied. This approach facilitates information sharing, growth and enhanced productivity.
The Change Wheel shows us the six different stages we go through in response to change and gives us an idea of the thoughts, feelings and behaviour we can expect at each stage. Understanding this change process will help us to adapt to change positively.
Icebergs are deceiving because what you see on the surface is usually only a small fraction of what lies below. Anger is exactly like an iceberg – it is easy to observe on the surface, but it has so many other hidden emotions below the surface.
Read the related article Making Sense of Anger.
The Circles of Control, Influence and Concern model helps us to direct our energy and focus. If we put our time and energy into worrying about the things that are in our circle of concern we will continue to feel out of control and helpless. But if we put our time and energy into our circle of influence and our circle of control we will give ourselves a sense of agency and feel more in control, so this is where we need to focus our time and energy.
Read the related article Circles of Control for detailed instructions
The Wellbeing Wheel breaks our lives into eight different aspects, elements or categories and helps us to see that all the parts of our lives are linked to each other. When we plot our wellbeing on the wheel we can see at a glance which aspects we are paying attention to and which aspects we are not paying attention to, or neglecting in our lives.
Read the related article Wellbeing Wheel for detailed instructions
Do you know how well developed each of your ego states is?
Completing the “My Personal Ego State Chart” will enable you to see at a glance your ego state development.
To refresh your memory about the ego states read: Transactional Analysis – Part I (The Masks We Wear)
There are both helpful and unhelpful ways of reacting to a situation.
The aim of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy is to help you stop the unhelpful reactions which trap you in a vicious cycle of negative thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
The ‘Self-Monitoring Chart’ will help you to do this.
Read Change Your Thinking…. Change Your Life! for more information about how Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy works.
Part of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy involves monitoring your thoughts. Completing the worksheet will allow you to see the effect of negative thinking.
Warning: While it is helpful to see the effects of negative thinking, don’t punish yourself for thinking this way. Punishing yourself merely creates another cycle of negative thinking!
Read Change Your Thinking…. Change Your Life! for more information about how Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy works.
