Reduce Stress

Proof required

Submit your 14-day stress baseline: (1) PSS-4 scores at Day 1 and Day 7 (all four question responses and total); (2) daily stress rating (1–10) for all 14 consecutive days; (3) primary stressor notes from Days 3, 7, and 10; (4) 14-day average daily stress rating and the top one or two recurring stressors identified.

What gets checked

• The PSS-4 is completed twice (Day 1 and Day 7) with all four question responses provided — a single PSS-4 at the start does not capture whether the baseline stress level is stable or fluctuating; two administrations 7 days apart detect this
• Daily stress ratings are recorded each evening for 14 consecutive days — morning ratings reflect anticipated stress, not actual daily experience; the evening rating reflects the actual day's stress load
• The recurring stressor identification is specific — 'workload and deadlines' is specific enough to design an intervention around; 'everything feels stressful' is not

Common mistakes

• Completing the PSS-4 on the same day as a particularly stressful event — the PSS-4 asks about the last month, not the current day; completing it during an acute stress event inflates the score by including acute stress in what should be a chronic baseline measure
• Recording the daily stress rating in the morning rather than the evening — morning ratings reflect anticipatory anxiety about the day ahead; evening ratings reflect the actual experienced stress level for the day; these are different measures
• Identifying vague or universal stressors ('life in general', 'everything') — the M2 programme is designed around specific recurring stressors; vague identifications make it impossible to design a targeted intervention

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Both PSS-4 administrations must be present with all four question responses and the total score. If only a summary score is given without individual responses, ask for all four question ratings
• The daily stress ratings must cover all 14 days. If any days are missing, ask whether those evenings were not rated or just not submitted
• The recurring stressor identification must be specific enough to design an intervention around. If the stressors named are vague ('general stress', 'everything'), ask the person to name the most specific recurring stressor they can identify

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Proof required

Submit (1) daily practice log for all 8 weeks (practice completed yes/no, daily evening stress rating 1–10); (2) PSS-4 scores at Weeks 4 and 8 (all four responses and total); (3) description of the specific problem-focused change made for the primary stressor at Weeks 2 and 6; (4) weekly average stress rating at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8.

What gets checked

• The daily practice log shows a consistent named practice — the practice name should be the same throughout (e.g. '10-minute diaphragmatic breathing at 9 pm' or '20-minute walk each lunchtime'); changing practices week to week makes the 8-week trend uninterpretable
• PSS-4 is administered at Weeks 4 and 8 using the same four questions — PSS-4 measures chronic stress over the last month; the Week 4 and Week 8 scores reflect the 4-week periods immediately preceding each administration
• The problem-focused change at Week 2 is specific — 'I scheduled a conversation with my manager about workload by Week 2 and have reduced the number of weekly meetings I attend by 2' is specific; 'I am trying to be less stressed at work' is not

Common mistakes

• Using different practices each week rather than committing to one consistent practice — the stress reduction benefit of mindfulness, PMR, and regular aerobic activity all require sustained repetition to build the physiological stress response capacity; switching practices weekly means never building the consistent benefit of any one
• Reporting only the PSS-4 scores without the daily stress ratings — PSS-4 measures chronic perceived stress over the previous month; it does not capture daily variability or week-to-week trends; both measures are needed together
• Implementing only emotion-focused practices while leaving the primary stressor unchanged — for high-chronic-stress situations driven by a specific identifiable stressor, emotion-focused practices alone have limited effect; problem-focused change for the primary stressor is the most effective single intervention

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The daily practice must be named consistently and logged every day. If the practice changes week to week without explanation, ask what happened to the original practice
• PSS-4 should be administered at Weeks 4 and 8. If only one administration is submitted, ask for the missing week's scores
• The problem-focused change must be specific and named. If the description is 'I tried to reduce stress at work', ask what specific change was made and when

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Proof required

Submit (1) M3 PSS-4 (all four responses and total, at the end of Week 8); (2) a 7-day final daily stress rating diary (1–10 each evening); (3) a side-by-side comparison table showing PSS-4 scores at all four time points and average daily stress rating at M1 and M3; (4) an attestation from a named person who observed the 8-week stress reduction programme.

What gets checked

• The PSS-4 trend table shows all four administrations — Day 1, Day 7, Week 4, and Week 8 — so the chronic stress trajectory is visible across the full programme
• The final 7-day daily stress diary is recorded in real time each evening — a retrospective weekly average submitted in one sitting is not comparable to the M1 daily-logged baseline
• The attestation describes observed behaviour changes, not just reported feeling changes — 'they went for a walk every lunchtime for the last 2 months and seemed less reactive in the evenings' is observation; 'they said they were less stressed' is not

Common mistakes

• Completing the PSS-4 on an unusually calm day at the end of Week 8 — the PSS-4 asks about the last month; completing it during an unusually calm period understates the chronic stress level and inflates the apparent improvement
• Providing only the Week 8 PSS-4 and omitting the Day 1, Day 7, or Week 4 scores — the M3 evidence of stress reduction is the trend across all four administrations, not the final score alone
• Providing an attestation from someone who only observed the person in the final two weeks — the attesting person must have been present during the full 8-week period to describe what changed

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The PSS-4 trend table must show all four administrations. If any time point is missing, ask for the score from that administration
• The final 7-day daily diary must be recorded in real time, not retrospectively. If the submission is a single summary rather than daily entries, ask for the daily logs
• The attestation should describe observed practice behaviour across the full 8-week period — what specific practice did the person maintain, and what change in behaviour did the attester observe?

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