Measuring Stress Levels

Here is an example of what a massage therapist may use during intake to get a better idea of a person's self-reported levels of chronic stress. We may ask a client to rate their perceived level of stress on a 5 point numerical scale to get a baseline. Here is an example of that scale.

1: No Stress

2: I rarely have stress

3: I sometimes have stress, I can handle it

4: I have a lot of stress, sometimes I have difficulty coping

5: I have too much stress, I can't cope

If you would like to learn more about tests that can be used to measure stress levels, here are a few if you would like to look them up. The "Perceived Stress Scale" measures chronic stress, the "State-Trait Anxiety Inventory" measures current stress levels and "The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale" and "Brief Resilience Scale" measure a person's adaptive stress coping strategies. If you would like a more comprehensive overview of your stress levels, you can either do these tests on your own or seek the assistance of a mental health professional.

Massage therapy lowers stress levels and can help manage them. Massage therapists are not able to diagnose psychological conditions because we it is not considered our "scope of practice." However, we do need to have a simple understanding of what level of stress a person may have. If a person is trying to heal from being in a long-term state of stress (chronic) compared to short-term (acute), a massage therapist will adjust the massage techniques and the approach to the session based on this.