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QUIZ

How to Answer

For each statement, choose the answer that best reflects your experience over the past 3 months.

0 = Never 1 = Rarely 2 = Sometimes 3 = Often 4 = Almost Always

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SECTION 1: PHYSICAL SIGNS

1. I feel tense in my body even when there is no obvious reason to be.

0 1 2 3 4

2. I struggle to fully relax, even when I have time to rest.

0 1 2 3 4

3. I feel tired but find it difficult to switch off mentally, especially at night, and I have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

0 1 2 3 4

4. I notice symptoms such as jaw tension, shoulder tightness, shallow breathing, headaches, digestive issues, or muscle tension.

0 1 2 3 4

5. I feel like I am constantly running on adrenaline, caffeine, willpower, or determination.

0 1 2 3 4

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SECTION 2: MENTAL SIGNS

6. My mind is constantly thinking, planning, solving, or anticipating.

0 1 2 3 4

7. I find it difficult to be present because I am always thinking about what I have to do next.

0 1 2 3 4

8. I regularly overthink decisions, conversations, or situations.

0 1 2 3 4

9. I often imagine worst-case scenarios or mentally prepare for problems.

0 1 2 3 4

10. Even when things are going well, I find myself looking for what might go wrong.

0 1 2 3 4

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SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL SIGNS

11. I struggle to identify what I am feeling until I become overwhelmed.

0 1 2 3 4

12. I feel emotionally exhausted, numb, disconnected, or flat.

0 1 2 3 4

13. I feel responsible for other people’s emotions, wellbeing, or happiness.

0 1 2 3 4

14. I often say “I’m fine” when I am actually struggling.

0 1 2 3 4

15. I rarely feel completely safe to slow down.

0 1 2 3 4

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SECTION 4: PSYCHOLOGICAL PATTERNS

16. I feel guilty when I rest, or that I’m not really allowed to rest before I have taken care of everything.

0 1 2 3 4

17. I tend to keep going even when my body is asking me to stop.

0 1 2 3 4

18. I don’t know what I need until I reach exhaustion, burnout, resentment, or overwhelm.

0 1 2 3 4

19. Calm, stillness, or having nothing to do feels uncomfortable.

0 1 2 3 4

20. I often feel like I am surviving life rather than fully living it.

0 1 2 3 4

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SCORING

The test is organized and scored in way that will allow you to assess your stress level and to see if, and to what extent, you are living in survival mode. Questions 1-10 relate to stress and questions 11-20 relate to survival mode.

After scoring, plot the two diagnostics together to see where you land: low stress and no survival mode; low stress and low survival mode; low stress and high survival mode; high stress and low survival mode or high stress and high survival mode. The nuance of these results is incredibly helpful to allow you to begin to finally see clearly where you are currently, and to give you a baseline for going forward. The techniques for relieving stress aren’t the same as the ones for easing gently out of survival mode, and in understanding the shape of your own emotional and psychological landscape, you will be infinitely more effective in returning to yourself.

STRESS SCORE

Maximum Score = 40

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0–10

Healthy Functioning

Your nervous system is experiencing normal life stress.

You generally recover well and return to balance.

Stress is situational, not your baseline. This is wonderful!

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11–20

Elevated Stress

You're carrying more pressure than your system ideally wants to hold.

You may be feeling stretched, but some simple pivots will allow you to return to a healthy level of stress.

This is a warning sign, not a crisis.

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21–30

Chronic Stress

Your stress response is active more often than not, and your nervous system is spending less time in recovery and more time in management mode. The effects of this level of consistent stress make the amygdala (responsible for threat detection) more reactive, and the prefrontal cortex (logic, planning, emotional regulation) weaken. Additionally, the hippocampus (memory and context) shrinks in function and leads to memory issues and brain fog. What ensues is overthinking, emotional reactivity and not feeling like yourself. The amount of cortisol secreted by the hypothalamus can become dysregulated, either producing too much at the wrong times (creating a surfeit of energy, over-alertness and activating survival responses), which results in a “wired but tired” state of being, and eventually it produces too little, which triggers a state of burnout. Profound and rapid changes need to be made to protect yourself from the serious physical, emotional and mental repercussions of chronic stress, which can easily develop into acute stress and has serious ramifications on your overall health and vitality.

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31–40

Acute Stress Load

Your nervous system is in extremis, and your body is also suffering physiological effects. Acute stress triggers a whole-system adaptation to perceived danger that never turns off.

The body begins prioritizing survival over repair, protection over growth and reactivity over regulation.

In this state, your HPA axis (hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal system), which is the stress hormone system, has become dysregulated

The HPA axis controls cortisol. In prolonged periods of acute stress, the amount of cortisol secreted by the hypothalamus rises, which can result in : weight gain (mostly around the face and abdomen), acne, thinning skin, easy bruising, flushed face, slowed healing, muscle weakness, severe fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, high blood pressure, and headache, among other symptoms.

Immune system disruption - stress hormones like cortisol also suppress immune regulation. In the short term this reduces inflammation, but in the long term, the immune system becomes dysregulated, resulting in frequent infections, slower healing, chronic inflammation and autoimmune flare patterns in some people.

In prolonged, acute stress, cellular aging signals increase due to the increased oxidative stress. This results in shortened telomere function (a cell aging marker), which reduces the repair process, and lowers resilience over time.

Additionally, the body deprioritizes digestion, reducing stomach acid regulation, resulting in lower gut motility, altered microbiome balance and reduced nutrient absorption. This results in bloating, IBS-like symptoms, constipation or alternatively diarrhea, food sensitivities and a loss of appetite or emotional eating.

Extreme stress increases sympathetic nervous system activity (fight or flight responses), which results in increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and sustained constriction of the blood vessels. The long-term risks include hypertension, a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure. The positive news is that it is absolutely possible to return to a state of normal stress regulation and regain optimal health.

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SURVIVAL MODE SCORE

Maximum Score = 40

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0–10

Generally Regulated

You may experience stress, but your identity is not organized around survival.

You can access rest, connection, and self-awareness relatively easily. Perfect!

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11–20

Early Survival Patterns

Some survival adaptations are present. You may people please, over-function, or struggle with rest. These patterns are not yet dominating your life, however vigilance is required to make sure that you don’t slip into functional survival mode, as the progression from early survival patterns to a deeper state of survival mode have a pernicious way of developing quietly, unnoticed. Now is the time to begin making some shifts to reclaim your sense of safety and recalibrate your nervous system.

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21–30

Functional Survival Mode

This is where many high-achieving women score.

You likely appear highly capable on the outside, keeping all the balls in the air, being the person everyone knows they can count on.

Yet internally, you may struggle to switch off, constantly thinking about what you need to do in the next minute, hour, day, week. Your needs likely come last, you feel as though you need to earn rest, and even then, rest feels uncomfortable, as though you’re somehow letting things slip. Responsibility probably feels constant and as though it will never end. You are functioning well, but your nervous system is operating from protection more than presence, and this state of functioning survival mode has likely already begun affecting most systems in your body:

The nervous system, immune system, hormones and stress response, thyroid and metabolism, the digestive system and if applicable, your menstrual and reproductive health. Now is the time to take gentle but efficient steps to re-regulate your mind and your body, and return to a vibrant state of being, based in a profound sense of safety and joie de vivre.

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31–40

Deep Survival Mode

Your nervous system has likely normalized hypervigilance and nervous system dysregulation. You may no longer recognize exhaustion, self-abandonment, chronic tension, and emotional suppression because they now feel normal. This has become the operating system.

At this stage, you may feel that you no longer recognize yourself and your life. How did become like this? In this state of deep survival mode, every system in the body is negatively affected. The sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our “flight or fight” mode, and physically dilates pupils, increases heart rate and blood pressure, and causes the body to release norepinephrine (which increases memory function, enhances vigilance and focus) may have taken over, causing anxiety, panic, anger, restlessness or hyperactivity. Alternatively, the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the calming “rest and digest” and conservation of energy functions, may have taken greater control, and inversely, you may feel completely flat, lacking any joy in life or hope that things will become better in the future. When the parasympathetic nervous system is overactive for too long, a surfeit of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory, learning, attention, arousal and involuntary muscle movement) may accumulate in the body, resulting in fatigue, depression, disconnection and lethargy. You may be feeling any combination of any or all of these symptoms, as it is possible to swing from an overactivated sympathetic nervous system to an overactivated parasympathetic nervous system. This results in feeling hypervigilant, overactive, restless and anxious some days, and other days feeling hopeless, without energy, burnt-out and disconnected. This state of deep survival mode has very serious consequences on every system in your body:

- Cardiovascular health: an elevated risk of heart attack and heart disease among other cardiovascular risks.

- Digestive system: IBS-like symptoms, bloating, poor nutrient absorption, food allergies and sensitivities, constipation or diarrhea and nausea

- Reproductive system: lowered fertility, irregular or absent menstruations, changes in libido, worsening PMS symptoms

- Brain and nervous system: anxiety, disconnection, memory problems, brain fog

- Thyroid and metabolism: thinning hair, fatigue, weight changes and slower recovery from illness

It is abundantly clear why it is essential to return to a state of healthy regulation. The wonderful news is that it truly is possible to feel normal again, to become yourself again, and not only that, become the brightest and most vibrant version of yourself that you may have ever been. Gentle rituals, combined with small changes and pivots in your daily have long-reaching, profound consequences. Knowing that action has to be taken is the first step. Now, let the healing begin.

Final thoughts and next steps

No matter where you fall in the stress and survival mode results, know that it is entirely, absolutely possible to return completely to yourself. There can be a before and an after, and what you are feeling right now is not who you are; it is simply the identity that your mind and body constructed for survival, in response to stimuli. It has served a purpose, but now you can release this identity and reclaim yourself. The real you is not broken, gone or lost.

You deserve to live a life that you truly love, to express yourself in joy and to have hope and optimism for the future, while reveling in the present.

Consciously choosing to heal is the most integrous and loving gift you can give to yourself, to your family and to the world. Each of us comes into the world with their own unique spark of the divine, and when you are well, alive and freely being your true self, the world at large is blessed by your gifts, raising the collective consciousness.

What to do next? Now that you have your baseline, I invite you to take a look at the one and three month Returning to Self programs, or to contact me directly at kaitlin@returningtoself.health