Layoffs, economic crisis, concerns linked to artificial intelligence, anxiety-provoking climate… In recent years, there has been no shortage of sources of stress. And sometimes all it takes is one personal event – a breakup, a health problem or bad news – to feel like everything is shaking.
For Eva Asselmann, professor of personality psychology at the Health and Medical University of Potsdam, “no one remains permanently spared from losses, crises or upheavals.
But when faced with difficulties, we do not all react in the same way. Some people need a long time to regain their balance, while others seem to be able to bounce back more quickly. This ability to recover after a difficult period has a name: psychological resilience.
So where do you stand? This short questionnaire, called the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), allows you to take stock in a few minutes.
Please note: this is a self-assessment, not a medical diagnosis.
Resilience test: 6 questions to take stock
For each statement, choose the answer that best suits you:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Mostly disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Mostly agree
5 = Completely agree
Respond spontaneously, thinking about your usual way of reacting to recent difficulties.
1. I manage to bounce back quickly after difficult times.
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5
2. I have difficulty coping with stressful events.
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5
3. It doesn’t take me long to regain my balance after a difficult event.
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5
4. I have trouble recovering when something unpleasant happens to me.
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5
5. I recover fairly quickly after going through a difficult period.
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5
6. It takes me a long time to recover from difficult events.
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5
How to calculate your score?
Please note: questions 2, 4 and 6 are worded backwards. We must therefore reverse their note:
- If you answered 1, count 5 points;
- 2 becomes 4;
- 3 remains 3;
- 4 becomes 2;
- 5 becomes 1.
For questions 1, 3 and 5, just keep your original answer.
Then add up the six scores and divide the result by 6. You get a score between 1 and 5.
Is your score low or high?
Between 1 and 2.99: your resilience is rather low.
Difficulties can take a lot of time and energy before you regain your balance. This absolutely does not mean that you are “fragile”. Your ability to bounce back may also be influenced by your current stress level, your fatigue or the difficulties you are going through.
Between 3 and 4.30: your resilience is in an average zone.
Hard blows affect you, which is perfectly normal, but you usually manage to gradually regain your balance.
Above 4.30: your resilience is rather high.
You seem to have a good ability to recover after a difficult period and quickly find your bearings.
A low score, is that necessarily worrying?
No. Resilience is not a fixed personality trait. It can vary depending on the periods of life and the events we face.
A normally strong person may, for example, feel completely overwhelmed when they have multiple sources of stress, sleep poorly or are going through a particularly trying period.
Rather than trying to obtain a “good” score, this questionnaire can therefore serve as a starting point to ask yourself: what do I need to better get through this period?
This can involve more rest, better organization, asking for help from those around you or even psychological support.
Resilience: when should you ask for help?
The Brief Resilience Scale is a self-assessment tool. It does not diagnose depression, anxiety disorder or other mental health problems.
If you feel overwhelmed for a long time, if your daily life becomes difficult to manage, if you are no longer able to work or take care of your loved ones, it is better to talk to a doctor or a psychologist rather than multiplying online tests.
Because being resilient does not mean bearing everything alone. Knowing how to ask for help is also one of the resources that helps you get through a difficult period.