Burnout Calculator

Stress Burnout Calculator Spreadsheet - This tool helps you to assess whether you are experiencing burnout. Simply download the stress calculator spreadsheet and fill out the questionnaire. Your burnout score will then be calculated. If your score is between 2 & 3, you are doing well. If your score is between 3 & 4, it would be wise for you to examine your work life, evaluate your priorities, and consider possible changes. If your score is higher than 4, you are experiencing burnout to the extent that it is mandatory that you do something about it. A score higher than 5 indicates an acute state and a need for immediate help.

Test Your Coping Skills How do you cope with stress? There are many ways, but some are more effective than others.
This stress scale was created largely on the basis of results compiled by clinicians and researchers who tried to identify how people effectively cope with stress. It is an educational tool, designed to help inform you of the most effective and healthy ways to cope.

  1. Give yourself 10 points if you feel you have a supportive family around you.
  2. Give yourself 10 points if you actively pursue a hobby.
  3. Give yourself 10 points if you belong to a social or activity group in which you participate more than once a month.
  4. Give yourself 15 points if you are within 10 pounds of your "ideal" body weight, considering your height and bone structure.
  5. Give yourself 15 points if you practice some form of "deep relaxation" at least five times a week. Deep relaxation includes meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, imagery, and yoga.
  6. Give yourself 5 points for each time you exercise for 30 minutes or longer during an average week.
  7. Give yourself 5 points for each nutritionally balanced and wholesome meal you eat during an average day. A nutritionally balanced meal is low in fat and high in vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.
  8. Give yourself 5 points if you do something you really enjoy and which is "just for you" during an average week.
  9. Give yourself 10 points if you have a place in your home to which you can go to relax or be by yourself.
  10. Give yourself 10 points if you practice time management techniques daily.
  11. Subtract 10 points for each pack of cigarettes you smoke during an average day.
  12. Subtract 5 points for each evening during an average week that you use any form of medication or chemical substance, including alcohol, to help you sleep.
  13. Subtract 10 points for each day during an average week that you consume any form of medication or chemical substance, including alcohol, to reduce anxiety or just to calm down.
  14. Subtract 5 points for each evening during an average week that you bring work home - work meant to be done at your place of employment.

Now calculate your total score. A "perfect" score is 115. If you scored in the 50-60 range, you probably have adequate coping skills for most common stress. However, keep in mind that the higher your score, the greater your ability to cope with stress in an effective, healthy manner.

This stress assessment was created by Dr. George Everly Jr. of the University of Maryland . It is reprinted from a U.S. Public Health Service pamphlet, "What Do You Know About Stress" (DHHS Publication No. PHS79-50097) and is in the public domain.

What is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
  • Is there any treatment?
  • What is the prognosis?
  • What research is being done?
  • Organizations

Related NINDS Publications and Information Additional resources from MEDLINE plus.

What is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that affects 3-5 percent of all American children. It interferes with a person's ability to stay on a task and to exercise age-appropriate inhibition (cognitive alone or both cognitive and behavioral).

Some of the warning signs of ADHD include failure to listen to instructions, inability to organize oneself and school work, fidgeting with hands and feet, talking too much, leaving projects, chores, and homework unfinished, and having trouble paying attention to and responding to details.

There are several types of ADHD: a predominantly inattentive subtype, a predominantly hyperactive-impulsive subtype, and a combined subtype. ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood, although the condition can continue into the adult years.

Is there any treatment? The usual course of treatment may include medications such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) or dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), which are stimulants that decrease impulsivity and hyperactivity and increase attention. Most experts agree that treatment for ADHD should address multiple aspects of the individual's functioning and should not be limited to the use of medications alone. Treatment should include structured classroom management, parent education (to address discipline and limit-setting), and tutoring and/or behavioral therapy for the child.

What is the prognosis? There is no "cure" for ADHD. Children with the disorder seldom outgrow it; however, some may find adaptive ways to accommodate the ADHD as they mature.

What research is being done? Several components of the NIH support research on developmental disorders such as ADHD. Research programs of the NINDS, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seek to address unanswered questions about the causes of ADHD, as well as to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Select this link to view a list of studies currently seeking patients.

Organizations CHADD - Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 8181 Professional Place, Suite 150, Landover, MD 20785 http://www.chadd.org Tel: 301-306-7070 800-233-4050 Fax: 301-306-7090

Attention-Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) P.O. Box 543 Pottstown , PA 19464 mail@add.org http://www.add.org Tel: 484-945-2101 Fax: 610-970-7520

Learning Disabilities Association of America 4156 Library Road, Suite 1, Pittsburgh, PA 15234-1349 info@ldaamerica.org http://www.ldaamerica.org Tel: 412-341-1515 Fax: 412-344-0224

National Center for Learning Disabilities 381 Park Avenue South, Suite 1401 , New York, NY 10016 http://www.ld.org Tel: 212-545-7510 888-575-7373 Fax: 212-545-9665

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) National Institutes of Health, DHHS 6001 Executive Blvd. Rm. 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663 nimhinfo@nih.gov http://www.nimh.nih.gov Tel: 301-443-4513/866-615-NIMH (-6464) 301-443-8431 (TTY) Fax: 301-443-4279

Related NINDS Publications and Information * Methylphenidate and Clonidine Help Children with ADHD and Tics

April 2002 News Summary on a Clinical Trial of Methylphenidate and Clonidine in Children with ADHD and Tics

Prepared by: Office of Communications and Public Liaison National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20892 NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by/or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient, or is familiar with that patient's medical history. All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.

Update on Health Information: Troubled Children Parenting as Therapy for Child's Mental Disorders The New York Times By BENEDICT CAREY Published: December 22, 2006 BUFFALO - In school he was as floppy and good-natured as a puppy, a boy who bear-hugged his friends, who was always in motion, who could fall off his chair repeatedly, as if he had no idea how to use one. This is the last in a series of articles about the increasing number of children whose problems are diagnosed as serious mental disorders. The earlier articles examined one family's experience, the uncertainty of diagnosis, the use of combinations of psychiatric drugs, and the transition to adulthood.

Should parents avoid medication in the treatment of children who suffer from depression or other mood problems and focus on non-drug treatments, such as psychotherapy? "I don't want him to look back and think the successes he's had are all due to a drug," said Dawn Van De Wal, a mother of a child with attention-deficit diagnosis. But at home, after run-ins with his parents, his exuberance could turn feral. From the exile of his room, Peter Popczynski would throw anything that could be launched - books, pencils, lamps, clothes, toys - scarring the walls of the family's brick bungalow, and leaving some items to rattle down the hallway, like flotsam from a storm.

The Popczynskis soon received a diagnosis for their son, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and were told that they could turn to a stimulant medication like Ritalin. Doctors have ample evidence that stimulants not only calm children physically but may also improve their school performance, at least for as long as they are on medication. But like most other parents, the couple preferred to avoid drug treatment, if possible.

"People are so stressed out, and it's so much easier to say, 'Here, take this pill and go to your room; leave me alone,' " Lisa Popczynski said on a recent Monday after work. Peter sat on the couch, hunched over his homework, while her husband, Roman, occupied Scott, 8. "But what I would say is that if you are willing to take on the responsibility of extra parenting, you can make a big difference," said Ms. Popczynski, an interior designer. "I compare parenting to driving. We all learn pretty quickly how to drive a car. But if you have to drive a Mack truck, you're going to need some training."

In recent decades, psychiatry has come to understand mental disorders as a matter of biology, of brain abnormalities rooted in genetic variation. This consensus helped discredit theories from the 1960s that blamed the parents - usually the mother - for problems like neurosis, schizophrenia, and autism. By defining mental disorders as primarily problems of brain chemicals, the emphasis on biology also led to an increasing dependence on psychiatric drugs, especially those that entered the market in the 1980s and 1990s. But the science behind non-drug treatments is getting stronger. And now, some researchers and doctors are looking again at how inconsistent, overly permissive or uncertain child-rearing styles might worsen children's problems, and how certain therapies might help resolve those problems, in combination with drug therapy or without drugs.

The psychotherapy techniques intended for the improvement of interactions between parents and children have been used mostly for children who suffer from attention disorders or for those who exhibit aggressive or defiant behavior. But recently, mental health professionals have been studying their use for families whose children suffer from depression or other mood problems. In a comprehensive review, the American Psychological Association urged in August that for childhood mental disorders, "in most cases," non-drug treatment "be considered first," including techniques that focus on parents' skills, as well as enlisting teachers' help. And in its just-completed guidelines, even the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, an organization whose members strongly favor drug treatment, recommends that children receive some form of talk therapy before being given drugs for moderate depression, a very common complaint. "We are at a point where families who bring in a child ought to get a Chinese menu of treatments that are backed by some evidence, including not only medication but psychosocial or family interventions," said Dr. John March, a child psychiatrist at Duke University . "Not to do so when we know some of these therapies work is, in my opinion, simply unethical. Then let the family choose which one they want." The argument over which is better, medication or psychotherapy, intended to change the behavior of parents and children, is irrelevant in many cases. A child paralyzed by feelings of severe despair or anxiety, for example, often cannot begin to engage in any type of therapy without a period on medication to break the disabling mood. And many studies suggest that the combination of medication and talk therapy is significantly more effective, and safer, than either alone.

Drugs, Therapy, or Both? "It's obvious that medication has been more effective than behavioral modification in treating the core symptoms of ADHD, but behavioral treatments can produce real improvement, and for certain kids the combination of the two treatment appears to be best," said Dr. Oscar Bukstein, a child psychiatrist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who is helping the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry write treatment guidelines. "Children with other behavior problems in addition to ADHD, for instance, seem to do best with both treatments."