Take the check
The Perceived Stress Scale measures how stressed life has felt, not how many stressful events you've had. Two people with the same load can score very differently. Answer for the last month.
Free perceived stress self-check
10 questions · about 2 minutes · no sign-up, nothing stored
What your score means
Ten items scored out of 40, with some reverse-scored. The usual bands:
- 0–13 — lower perceived stress. Life feels broadly manageable right now. Worth re-checking if things change.
- 14–26 — moderate perceived stress. A noticeable load. A good point to look at what you can offload, control or get support with.
- 27–40 — high perceived stress. Life is feeling overwhelming and out of control. Worth taking seriously — and worth talking through.
What actually helps with stress
None of this replaces support, but all of it is worth doing while you decide:
- Separate control from worry. Split what's stressing you into what you can act on and what you can't. Put energy into the first list; practise letting go of the second.
- Protect recovery, not just output. Stress isn't only the load — it's the lack of recovery between loads. Guard sleep, breaks and one genuinely off day.
- Shrink the list to the next action. Overwhelm comes from staring at everything at once. Name just the next concrete step and do that.
- Move your body daily. Even a short walk burns off stress hormones and resets your baseline. Consistency beats intensity.
- Say it to one person. Carrying stress silently amplifies it. Naming it out loud to someone you trust takes real weight off.
When self-help isn't enough
Stress-management works while you can still get some distance from the pressure. It works less well once stress has become the constant background hum — once sleep, your body and your mood are all affected and nothing you try seems to shift it. That's the stage where talking to someone qualified helps, both to untangle what's driving it and because chronic stress is hard to see clearly from inside. If it's specifically work or study, our burnout check digs into that.
Talking to someone about it
A Lume Live session is a confidential 1:1 conversation with Sachin Bajaj, who holds an M.Sc in Clinical Psychology (Gurugram University) and a PGDGC from Jamia Millia Islamia. Sessions are ₹499 for 45 minutes, with your first at ₹249 using code FIRST50 — priced so that finding out whether it helps doesn't require asking anyone for money.
Nothing is shared with your parents, school, college or employer, and you can book using a first name only. For most people that matters more than the price.
Book a first session — ₹249
One 45-minute conversation. Pick your own slot and get the invite immediately. No package, no commitment to a course of treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Is this test free and private?
Completely. No sign-up, no email, no payment. Your answers aren't stored, sent or seen by anyone — they stay in your browser for the length of the check and are gone when you close the tab.
Does a high score mean something is wrong with me?
No. The PSS measures how stressed life currently feels — a state, not a disorder or a flaw. A high score is a signal to look at your load and support, not a diagnosis.
What is the PSS-10?
The Perceived Stress Scale is a ten-item questionnaire about how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded life has felt over the last month, scored out of 40.
How is this different from the burnout test?
The PSS measures general life stress; our work stress & burnout check focuses specifically on workload, control and exhaustion at work or study. Many people take both.
Is it anonymous?
Yes. No name, email or phone number to take it, and nothing recorded. If you later book a session, a first name is enough.