Now we'll go over evaluating your stress level, the health risks of stress and understanding your reactions to it. To evaluate stress, it is important to be able to identify it in both yourself and the people you interact with. Here are some common signs of stress within a team environment. Sudden increase in arguments, higher staff turnover, more team members expressing feelings of stress, more illness and absence from work, decreased performance and more complaints and grievances. Here are common signs you may notice in a friend, colleague or family member who is feeling stressed. They may have mood swings, act withdrawn, seem to have a loss of motivation, commitment and confidence or show increased emotional reactions such as sudden outbursts and aggression or being more tearful and sensitive. By recognizing these signs in those around you, you will be better equipped to help support them in times of stress. Have you ever experienced any of these yourself? If you have then it's time to get practical and look at your current situation and stress level. You can do this in two ways. First, get some paper to write on or use the workbook included in the Resources section of this course. Think about all the things that cause stress in your life and write down a list of all these stressors. You can also take an online workplace stress test. There are many free tools you can find online that you can use to learn more about your own stress. The easiest one is a simple workplace stress survey from the American Institute of Stress. It can be found at the website www.stress.org. Take a few moments to complete a stress test and list your stressors in your workbook. Acting early to identify stress can reduce the impact of the pressure that you feel and make it easier to reduce or remove the causes. It can also help you better respond to others who are feeling the pressures of stress.