A Helpful Stress Inventory

Stress (noun)

1. A physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension

and may be a factor in disease causation. (Merriam-Webster)

2. A state of mental or emotional strain or tension

resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. (English Oxford Living Dictionaries)

3. A condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that "demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize."

(Richard Lazarus, Ph.D., The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping Theory)

Clients consistently enter sessions describing their heightened experience of stress

over the past week or few days.

Sometimes, from the past months or even years.

A helpful tool used to quickly assess what level of stress clients are coping with is called:

The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory.

I believe that having a tool like this helps us all to assess what level of stress we are dealing with.

It helps to know what mental health professionals would grade the level of stress

we are living through or recovering from!

Taking a quick assessment can help us put the stress in perspective

and perhaps then take better care of ourselves (which is a skill most of us need to improve).

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Mark down the point value of each of these life events that has happened to you during the previous year.

Then, add up all your points to calculate your final score.

LIFE EVENT / POINT VALUE

1. Death of spouse .........100

2. Divorce .........73

3. Marital Separation from mate.........65

4. Detention in jail or other institution ........63

5. Death of a close family member.........63

6. Major personal injury or illness..........53

7. Marriage...........50

8. Being fired at work..........47

9. Marital reconciliation with mate........45

10. Retirement from work..........45

11. Major change in the health or behavior of a family member........44

12. Pregnancy........40

13. Sexual Difficulties.........39

14. Gaining a new family member (i.e., birth, adoption, older adult moving in, etc.)........39

15. Major business readjustment......39

16. Major change in financial state (i.e., a lot worse or better off than usual).......38

17. Death of a close friend........37

18. Changing to a different line of work.......36

19. Major change in the number of arguments with spouse

(i.e. either significantly more or less than usual regarding child rearing, personal habits, etc.)........35

20. Taking on a mortgage (for home, business, etc.)......31

21. Foreclosure on a mortgage or loan........30

22. Major change in responsibilities at work (i.e. promotion, demotion, etc.).......29

23. Son or daughter leaving home (marriage, attending college, joined military).........29

24. In-law troubles.......29

25. Outstanding personal achievement......28

26. Spouse beginning or ceasing work outside the home.......26

27. Beginning or ceasing formal schooling......26

28. Major change in living condition (new home, remodeling, deterioration of neighborhood or home, etc.).......25

29. Revision of personal habits (dress, manners, associations, quitting smoking).......24

30. Troubles with the boss.......23

31. Major changes in working hours or conditions.......20

32. Changes in residence.......20

33. Changing to a new school.......20

34. Major change in usual type and/or amount of recreation........19

35. Major change in church activity (i.e., a lot more or less than usual).....19

36. Major change in social activities (clubs, movies, visiting, etc.)......18

37. Taking on a loan (car, appliances, school)......17

38. Major change in sleeping habits (a lot more or a lot less than usual)......16

39. Major change in number of family get-togethers .......15

40. Major change in eating habits (a lot more or less food intake, or very different meal hours or surroundings) ......15

41. Vacation......13

42. Major holidays.......12

43. Minor violations of the law (traffic tickets, disturbing the peace, etc.).....11

Note: If you experienced the same event more than once in a year, add the score for each occurrence.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE SCORE?

150 points or less =

a relatively low amount of life change

and a low susceptibility to stress-induced health breakdown

150 to 300 points =

50% chance of health breakdown in the next 2 years

300 points or more =

80% chance of health breakdown in the next 2 years (according to the Holmes-Rahe statistical prediction model)

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The amount of stress experienced by one person is not equivalent to the amount of stress experienced by another. It is determined by the perceived demands and the perceived resources the person has access to.

For instance, one person may find the beginning of a new job to be a wholly exciting experience if everything else in their life is stable and positive. But if one is starting a new job when they've just moved into a new house, or their spouse is ill, or there are money problems, it may be experienced as a very stressful event.

Our ability to cope with the demands upon us is key to our experience of stress.

That ability changes from person to person and even season to season in our lives.

NOTE: Stress can cause severe health problems and, in extreme cases, can cause death.

This Stress Inventory is a tool to help us measure the stress load we carry,

and consider what we should do about it!