Method and Apparatus for Evaluating the Effects of Internal and External Stress Influences

• US 20110118558A1
• Filed: 11/18/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Make3wishes LLC
• Original Assignee: Make3wishes LLC
• Inventors: Barr, Lori Lee
• Granted Patent: US 8,747,311 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/16 Devices for psychotechnics using teaching or educational appliances G09B1/00 - G09B7/00; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4884 inducing physiological or psychological stress, e.g. applications for stress testing
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 1/18 the elements being rotatable
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 1/30 wherein the elements are adapted to be arranged in co-operation with the support to form symbols without special support G09B1/40
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 3/00 Manually or mechanically operated teaching appliances working with questions and answers electrically-operated G09B7/00; e.g. G09B7/063 advertising or displaying in general G09F

Abstract

A measuring device and method is for enabling a user to measure and record changes in emotion during the day and translate it into a relative stress value per day. It may be used to accumulate the positive and negative emotional reactions that a user experiences during a predetermined time period. This method and device will provide a record of the associated distress and eustress and the cumulative effect therefrom on the individual. The user has a visual display of whether or not the emotions felt during a given day are positive or negative. The recognition of the stress level may remind or enable the user to take some action that will counterbalance excessive negative emotions known to contribute to major diseases and engage in activities that reduce or relieve the stress influences on the user before the end of each day.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating a cumulative level of distress and eustress on an individual, comprising:

determining a time interval for recording emotional responses by the individual to life events;

judging and assigning positive and negative measures of emotional responses perceived by the individual to each instance of internal and external life events during the determined time interval;

accumulating the measures of the emotional responses perceived by the individual during the determined time interval;

evaluating the level of distress and eustress on the individual during the time interval based on the accumulated measures of emotional responses perceived during the time interval by the individual; and

using the level of distress and eustress as a reference to change and balance emotional reactions to life events by the individual.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising evaluating long term trends over time of cumulative distress and eustress on the individual by comparing changes in the level of distress and eustress between successive time intervals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined time interval is a day.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning positive numeric values based on an intensity of the positive measures of emotional responses and assigning negative numeric values based on an intensity of the negative measures of emotional responses.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing a measuring device having a positive and negative graded scale;

setting the measuring device to a value of zero at the beginning of the time interval;

entering the assigned positive and negative numeric values based on the intensity of the measures of emotional responses into the measuring device during the time interval; and

evaluating the level of distress and eustress on the individual during the time interval based on the final accumulated numeric values in the measuring device of the intensity of the measures of emotional responses perceived during the time interval by the individual.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the measuring device is selected from the group consisting of a circular rotating data measuring wheel, an electronic measuring device, a personal digital assistant, a measurement application for a computer, and a measurement application for a cell phone.

7. A device for evaluating a cumulative level of distress and eustress on an individual, comprising:

a predetermined time interval for recording emotional responses by the individual to life events;

positive and negative measures of emotional responses perceived by the individual to each instance of internal and external life events during the predetermined time interval;

means for accumulating the measures of the emotional responses perceived by the individual during the predetermined time interval;

means for evaluating the level of distress and eustress on the individual during the predetermined time interval based on the accumulated measures of emotional responses perceived during the predetermined time interval by the individual; and

the level of distress and eustress being used as a reference to change and balance emotional reactions to life events by the individual.

8. The device of claim 7, further comprising means for evaluating long term trends over time of cumulative distress and eustress on the individual by comparing changes in the level of distress and eustress between successive time intervals.

9. The device of claim 7, further comprising means for assigning positive numeric values based on an intensity of the positive measures of emotional responses and assigning negative numeric values based on an intensity of the negative measures of emotional responses.

10. The device of claim 9, further comprising:

a measuring device having a positive and negative graded scale;

means for setting the measuring device to a value of zero at the beginning of the time interval;

means for entering the assigned positive and negative numeric values based on the intensity of the measures of emotional responses into the measuring device during the time interval; and

means for evaluating the level of distress and eustress on the individual during the time interval based on the final accumulated numeric values in the measuring device of the intensity of the measures of emotional responses perceived during the time interval by the individual.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the measuring device is selected from the group consisting of a circular rotating data measuring wheel, an electronic measuring device, a personal digital assistant, a measurement application for a computer, and a measurement application for a cell phone.

12. A method for evaluating a cumulative level of distress and eustress on an individual, comprising:

providing a measuring device having a negative and positive graded scale, the scale being moveable with respect to a cursor on the device;

setting the cursor to zero on the measuring scale;

providing a relative scale to evaluate and value emotional responses to individual life events and to translate this evaluation into a numeric distress indicator value;

assigning a perceived numeric value relative to the intensity of the positive and negative emotion felt by the user of the device who perceives the life event as being emotional;

moving the cursor on the graded scale of the device by an amount equal to the assigned positive and negative numeric value of each perceived emotional event;

evaluating subsequent emotional events in the same way, and adding and subtracting the assigned relative emotional value to the on-going tally of emotional values; and

determining the cumulative daily value of the eustress and distress based on the final daily reading of the indicator and using it as a reference to change and balance emotional reactions to life events by the individual.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the measuring device is selected from the group consisting of a circular rotating data measuring wheel, an electronic measuring device, a personal digital assistant, an application for a personal computer, and a measurement application for a cell phone.

14. A device for evaluating a cumulative level of distress and eustress on an individual, comprising:

a circular wheel marked with a cursor line that is mounted on a graduated backing board;

the wheel is mounted for rotation on the graduated backing board about an axis pin;

the axis pin is configured to frictionally restrain the wheel from random rotation about the axis pin by the use of flanges and washers to allow a user to rotate the wheel a desired amount about the pin in relation to the cursor line;

the backing board is marked with two semicircle graduated sections that correspond with the outer edge of the rotating wheel, a negative semicircle section being to a user'"'"'s left and a positive semicircular section being to a user'"'"'s right;

each semicircular section is marked with a desired number of equal graduations to provide a recording scale that extends around its outer edge for recording numeric values of emotional distress and eustress responses to individual life events;

the negative semicircular section is provided with graduations indicating a negative scale from 0 to 180, and the positive section is provided with graduations indicating a positive scale from 0 to 180; and

the evaluation of cumulative levels of distress and eustress being used as a reference to change and balance emotional reactions to life events by the individual.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the backing board is a backing card.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the wheel is rotatably mounted onto a sleeved, windowed envelope to frictionally restrain the wheel at a desired location with respect to a cursor line on the sleeved envelope.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the wheel is rotatably mounted within a sleeved, windowed envelope.

18. The device of claim 14, wherein a positive scale from +1 to +10 grades a positive emotion that translates to eustress and a negative scale of from −

1 to −

10 grades a negative emotion that translates to distress.

19. The device of claim 14, wherein a value of emotion is recorded on the device by moving the wheel housing cursor line to the assigned value of the perceived emotion on the backing board.

20. The device of claim 14, wherein the wheel is marked with semicircular graduations for measuring a value of an emotional response and the backing card is marked with an indicator line in place of the cursor, to serve as a reference for relative movement of the graduated wheel.