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We all have stress in our lives and a little stress can be a healthy thing. Stress is caused by stressors, defined by BusinessDictionary as either 1. A physical, psychological, or social force that puts real or perceived demands on the body, emotions, mind, or spirit of an individual –OR- 2. A biological, chemical, or physical factor that can cause temporary or permanent harm to an ecosystem, environment, or organism.
Stressors are like bullies: We can usually handle one or two but when confronted by too many of them at one time we may lose the ability to overcome them. Heck, just recognizing stressors can be difficult and sometimes even counter-intuitive. Did you know that pleasant, desirable, rewarding things can also cause stress!?!? In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe suspected there was a link between events in your life and your level of stress. They looked at 43 life events and after thousands of interviews and surveys they ranked each life event for its contribution to stress. Some of the events that made the list are surprising: A change in health of family member (including an improvement), a change in financial state (including suddenly receiving a lot of money), and even an outstanding personal achievement! This is because our bodies react automatically and biochemically, way down at the cellular level, not only to bad changes in our life situation but to any changes.
To measure the overall stress using the Holmes-Rahe scale, determine which events/situations in the past year apply to you and take note of the associated number of “Life Change Units”. Add them up and the resulting total score will give you a rough idea of how much stress you are experiencing. (The table and explanation shown here is from Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale but the same table is available from multiple locations on the Internet and elsewhere. Newer lists may also be available as part of more modern studies.). This first table is for adults:
|
Life event |
Life change units |
| Death of a spouse | 100 |
| Divorce | 73 |
| Marital separation | 65 |
| Imprisonment | 63 |
| Death of a close family member | 63 |
| Personal injury or illness | 53 |
| Marriage | 50 |
| Dismissal from work | 47 |
| Marital reconciliation | 45 |
| Retirement | 45 |
| Change in health of family member | 44 |
| Pregnancy | 40 |
| Sexual difficulties | 39 |
| Gain a new family member | 39 |
| Business readjustment | 39 |
| Change in financial state | 38 |
| Death of a close friend | 37 |
| Change to different line of work | 36 |
| Change in frequency of arguments | 35 |
| Major mortgage | 32 |
| Foreclosure of mortgage or loan | 30 |
| Change in responsibilities at work | 29 |
| Child leaving home | 29 |
| Trouble with in-laws | 29 |
| Outstanding personal achievement | 28 |
| Spouse starts or stops work | 26 |
| Begin or end school | 26 |
| Change in living conditions | 25 |
| Revision of personal habits | 24 |
| Trouble with boss | 23 |
| Change in working hours or conditions | 20 |
| Change in residence | 20 |
| Change in schools | 20 |
| Change in recreation | 19 |
| Change in church activities | 19 |
| Change in social activities | 18 |
| Minor mortgage or loan | 17 |
| Change in sleeping habits | 16 |
| Change in number of family reunions | 15 |
| Change in eating habits | 15 |
| Vacation | 13 |
| Christmas | 12 |
| Minor violation of law | 11 |
Score of 300+: Serious risk of illness.
Score of 150-299+: Moderate risk of illness (reduced by 30% from the above risk).
Score 150-: Only a slight risk of illness.
A different scale has been developed for non-adults.
|
Life Event |
Life Change Units |
| Getting married | 95 |
| Unwed pregnancy | 100 |
| Death of parent | 100 |
| Acquiring a visible deformity | 80 |
| Divorce of parents | 90 |
| Fathering an unwed pregnancy | 70 |
| Jail sentence of parent for over one year | 70 |
| Marital separation of parents | 69 |
| Death of a brother or sister | 68 |
| Change in acceptance by peers | 67 |
| Pregnancy of unwed sister | 64 |
| Discovery of being an adopted child | 63 |
| Marriage of parent to stepparent | 63 |
| Death of a close friend | 63 |
| Having a visible congenital deformity | 62 |
| Serious illness requiring hospitalization | 58 |
| Failure of a grade in school | 56 |
| Not making an extracurricular activity | 55 |
| Hospitalization of a parent | 55 |
| Jail sentence of parent for over 30 days | 53 |
| Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend | 53 |
| Beginning to date | 51 |
| Suspension from school | 50 |
| Becoming involved with drugs or alcohol | 50 |
| Birth of a brother or sister | 50 |
| Increase in arguments between parents | 47 |
| Loss of job by parent | 46 |
| Outstanding personal achievement | 46 |
| Change in parent’s financial status | 45 |
| Accepted at college of choice | 43 |
| Being a senior in high school | 42 |
| Hospitalization of a sibling | 41 |
| Increased absence of parent from home | 38 |
| Brother or sister leaving home | 37 |
| Addition of third adult to family | 34 |
| Becoming a full-fledged member of a church | 31 |
| Decrease in arguments between parents | 27 |
| Decrease in arguments with parents | 26 |
| Mother or father beginning work | 26 |
Score of 300+: Serious risk of illness.
Score of 150-299+: Moderate risk of illness (reduced by 30% from the above risk).
Score 150-: Only a slight risk of illness.
The Kent Center has adopted this scale in their stress assessment and treatment practice. (We found them online and have no affiliation with them.) Working with mental health professionals is almost always a good idea. If you perform a self-assessment of stress and the result concerns you, seek professional counseling (in-person and face-to-face if at all possible) because untreated stress can easily lead to physical illness and depression. And then things can get very serious because depression cannot always be self-diagnosed or self-treated. Worse yet, severe depression is potentially lethal.
But if you decide that your stress level is sufficiently low, and composed of only a few distinct and easily identified causes/events, you may want to tackle them yourself. To make this stress-busting effort effective, be methodical. Spend some time thinking about each stressor in your life. Here are some tips:
- Make a Master List of Stressors and list each stress-causing event/situation separately
- Have a plan to deal with each one, independent of the others
- The plan for each one should include the following:
- Identification of what you see as the root cause of the stress (OK all you Mental Health Professionals, don’t email me: I know we mere mortals cannot always determine the root cause of stress but this is a start)
- A descriptive vision of what your life would be like without this stress (you being worry-free, happy at work, etc.)
- Who else is involved besides you, and what each person will do to help correct the situation
- Actions you and the other people involved will take today, this week, this month and this year
The human brain does not come with a user’s manual. Get professional counseling to help with high stress scores, depression or with any thoughts about harming yourself or others. Don’t mess with stress!
Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation
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