Confabulations

The BBC have released a handy stress test so you can find out just how stressed you really are. In these times of economic doom and gloom, especially moving into the so-called “festive” season, many people are feeling the pinch, being pressured at work and generally getting depressed. Interestingly, the BBC’s scale of stress goes from ‘normal’ to ’severely stressed’. There’s no ‘under-stressed’ category for those people who are completely unaffected even by the news they’ve lost their jobs, homes and owe some very nasty men a large amount of money. Because those people exist, even if they’re often classed as ’sociopaths’ and confined to hospital chairs whilst being watched over by mental health professionals.

So what do you do if you find you are stressed? It probably comes as no surprise – you don’t need a test to tell you that you worry about money, could do with working less hours and wince every time you remember someone else you have to buy an Xmas present for. The BBC have a stress guide to help you cope, but if it’s anything like their ’surviving winter’ guide we’re sure it will offer such classics as ‘try to stay calm’, ‘think positive’ and ‘take a deep breath’.