Welcome to the new page on assessing your self-compassion using a scoring system. The RISK (Resilience In Self Knowledge) score is based on much of the literature discussed on this site and is the only wholistic resilience scoring system (that I know of), that is simple and quick to use on yourself or with people you are concerned about.  Many resilience scoring systems focus on trauma but that is just one part of developing resilience skills. For example, as I work with students a lot, teaching them about the RISK score helps them not only to look after themselves better but to be able to assess the wholistic resilience of the people that they are working with. There is no age limit to this assessment process and there are no cultural barriers as the 5 areas below are basic requirements of every human body. This tool has been piloted with students for feedback and can be used as a baseline assessment and when reviewing progress /effectiveness of any intervention.

RISK Score (it does not matter in which order you discuss/score the 5 “R”s below)

Scoring System 

Score 0 if  your answer is – not at all or No

Score 1 if you can answer – A little

Score 2 if you can answer –  Yes

Replenishment – is the person /are you eating enough good quality food to support a healthy lifestyle and limiting bad foods/ alcohol etc. Our bodies need good nutrients to repair themselves and too many chemicals or processed foods can prevent that from happening or even cause more damage.

Respiration – is the person /are you taking the time to make sure they are breathing properly throughout the day so that their bodies can make full use of the oxygen/clean air they are breathing in. This is really important for cell nutrition as oxygen helps the cells to work better. Cells can mutate into other more damaging cells if they do not receive enough oxygen.

Rest – is the person / are you getting enough good quality sleep and following a good sleep hygiene routine so that the body can repair and restore itself. Major organ damage can occur over time e.g. Heart Disease if it is unable to do this and the person does not get enough good quality sleep.

Relaxation – is the person / are you protecting some time each day to relax and so that they can do all of the above as well as things they enjoy and help them to relax. A calm body helps the mind to become calm  (via the vagus nerve) and can prevent anxiety and stress from developing.

Reflection – is the person / are you taking some time to think about the day, what worked well and what didn’t so that they/you can make changes to improve their resilience? Being more self-aware helps us to learn how to make changes to improve our lifestyles.

Scoring System

Some scoring systems can be so complicated they are difficult and often too time-consuming to do so, in keeping it simple it is more likely to be done correctly. A simple scoring system will help you to memorise the tool too so it can be used quickly in your head in an emergency, when you may not have a pen and paper to hand.

Score 10 – 8

Well done, you are doing everything you can to keep healthy and improve your resilience. This is important for a healthy nervous system that monitors all of the other major organs of the body.  Remember the vagus nerve is also called the compassion nerve for this reason. You are doing well but may need to take more care in looking after your health so that your body and mind can be more resilient.  You may have scored below 10 but now that you are aware of it you can think about how you can improve your resilience.

Score 7 – 4

Be careful you are missing out on 2 or more of your important parts of building your resilience up. This can have a knock-on effect on other parts of your resilience making them weaker. For example, if you do not eat well your body may not be able to repair itself when you sleep. Your resilience is average so you may be at risk of developing mental and physical health problems.  This may be caused by isolation, lack of money or traumatic events in your life that you feel you have no control over.  Try asking for help from a professional or a friend who can help you to reflect on what resources you need to be more resilient.

Score 3 – 0

Your risk of low resilience is high and you may already be experiencing mental or physical health problems. Remember the vagus nerve informs all the other major organs of the body and if it senses that it is under attack then it will trigger the fight or flight mode making the body eliminate as much as it can to be prepared for a threat. In caveman times this was very useful but in modern days it can prevent you from carrying out your daily tasks and looking after yourself. Your health is now at risk and you should seek immediate help. If your body is under stress for a long time then major organ failure can occur. Stress is interpreted by the brain via the nervous system (vagus nerve) and will send out a neurochemical called cortisol which, over a long time can cause major damage to your organs through inflammation and exhaustion.

 

Conclusion

Even though we may think we are coping well with life, we may actually be putting our bodies under a great deal of stress which can lead to poor physical and mental health. Developing resilience is therefore an empowering process that should not be taken lightly or blamed on others. I have presented these concerns as simply as possible so that people can clearly see the dangers and resolve them for themselves. Developing resilience is a very empowering process but it cannot be done to you or for you.

Please feel free to comment below and provide feedback for other people who are thinking of using this assessment.