The difference between stress and perceived stress

When we experience stress, we may begin to feel that areas of our lives are out of our control – which is essentially what perceived stress is. It’s not necessarily to do with the stressful event you’re going through either, but rather, how we interpret our feelings. In time, this can impact our mental and physical wellbeing.

We have to remember that stress is a natural reaction to external stimuli, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In this guide, we’ll discuss in detail what perceived stress is, where the concept originated from, how it differs from ‘ordinary’ stress, and how you can reduce it to better your wellbeing.

What is perceived stress?

Perceived stress is different from actual stress. It’s more about your feelings towards a stressful situation, which may involve feeling a lack of control and unpredictability, rather than feeling stressed about the triggering event itself.

Stress is your body’s reaction to change that requires a response. Those changes can be physical, mental or emotional, and can come from your environment, your body or your thoughts. There are many causes of stress, such as

• Big life changes and upheaval

• A lack of control over important things

• Too much work (or not enough)

So how does stress and perceived stress differ?

If you have too much work to do, and you can’t keep on top of your tasks, you may feel overwhelmed as well as a myriad of other things. This is the actual stress you’re experiencing.

However, if you find your thoughts spiralling into what could happen, and believe awful things are inevitable, then this is perceived stress.

If you spend time and energy worrying about what could be, you’re causing the same physical, mental and emotional problems as you would be worrying about that massive workload we mentioned earlier. This is why perceived stress can be just as detrimental, if not more so to our wellbeing than actual stress.

Perceived stress is a serious issue. It can cause feelings similar to those experienced during stressful times, such as:

• Tension, headaches, pain and fatigue

• Digestive issues and stomach problems

• Anxiety, irritability and anger

• A lack of focus and motivation

• Depression

• Eating disorders

• Substance abuse

• Sleep disorders

Some of these are direct effects of stress, and some are unhealthy coping mechanisms. With the right support, you can help work through what is actually causing you stress, vs what you’re perceiving as stress to help keep symptoms at bay.

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

Developed by Cohen et al in 1983, the PSS is used to measure the degree of stress a person feels about their life.

It tests how unpredictable, overwhelming and uncontrollable the subject feels their last 30 days have been.

This sounds quite harsh, but it’s possible to measure no stress at all with this test—it’s a sliding scale. There are 10 questions and respondents answer each with a number from zero to four. These indicate how often the respondent felt or thought a certain way.

The PSS questionnaire

For each question, you have to give a score of:

• 0 – never

• 1 – almost never

• 2 – sometimes

• 3 – fairly often

• 4 – very often

The questions are as follows.

1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?

2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?

3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and stressed?

4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?

5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?

6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?

7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?

8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?

9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that happened that were outside of your control?

10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?

Your responses give a stress score at the end, which rates your perceived stress levels from low to high. You can take this test online – which only takes a few minutes.

How to deal with perceived stress

If you think you’re experiencing perceived stress, you aren’t alone. Here are some ways to relieve perceived stress in a healthy and beneficial way. Keep in mind that these are not substitutes for receiving professional help. If you think you’re struggling and have access to our Employee Assistance Programme, our Wisdom App can connect you with a counsellor 24/7, 365 days a year.

1. Practice a stress-reducing hobby or activity Engaging in pleasurable and relaxing activities can help ease perceived stress and worry. By offering a quick shift into something you enjoy, you can give yourself a mental break from it all. Whether that’s keeping your hands busy, or engaging in a short meditation, ensure it’s something that you feel is relaxing and therapeutic for you. Some people may find it beneficial to clean or declutter as a physical way of ‘clearing’ the mind and de-stressing.

2. Challenge your thoughts It’s very easy to get caught up in rumination, especially when you feel like things are ‘hopeless’ or ‘inevitable’. This isn’t about trying to think positively, it’s about challenging thoughts that have no real basis. Question the thought and find reasons why they aren’t true. You may want to try reframing them too, for example:

“I’ve failed again” – “I’ve found another way that doesn’t work”

“Everyone will hate me” – “The right people will stick by my side”

It’s all about practicing self-compassion when you feel yourself ruminating and causing perceived stress as a result.

3. Set boundaries This goes for your personal and professional lives. If particular situations are causing you actual stress, it’s okay to disengage and put aside your emotions. For example, if you have a particularly demanding boss, it’s okay to seek quiet time away from them to focus on tasks without them micromanaging. Or, if your partner keeps complaining about work and it’s causing you to feel bad, it’s fine to explain you don’t have the capacity to fully listen and support them, but will do at a later time or date.

4. Seek professional support Sometimes seeking support is the best way through, especially if perceived stress is having an impact on your quality of life. It may be worth reaching out to your GP to discover what options are available for managing your symptoms, as well as seeking counselling to talk through your problems.

How can an Employee Assistance Programme help?

With an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), you can access mental health support for free through your employer. And if you’re an employer noticing high stress levels impacting absence rates and engagement, then an EAP may be just what you need to improve staff retention and revenue.

A counsellor through our award-winning and BACP accredited EAP can support individuals experiencing perceived stress through solution-focused therapy, to help them with effective coping strategies and making sense of their worries. Available 24/7, 365 days a year, people can use HA | Wisdom Wellbeing’s EAP to get support whenever they need it.

Conclusion

Perceived stress is still very much a real concern. Not only does it place additional stress on our body and minds, but it can be further compounded by existing mental health conditions. With the right support, perceived stress can be minimised before it progresses onto more serious concerns such as burnout – which can be detrimental to workplace performance and quality of life.