#83: Stress Recognition -- Part 3

This last part of a three-part series on stress recognition will assess a respondent's overall stress level as related to changes in life events.

Because stress has been linked to overeating, recognizing our stress levels can lead us to activities such as walking, house cleaning, etc., that may take our mind off of food.

For each of the following sections, note the score related to each individual life event as it relates to your particular life situation within the past year.

LIFE CHANGE EVENTS SCALES

Developed by Richard H. Rahe, M.D.

WORK

Being fired from work = 47
Retirement from work = 45
Major business adjustment = 39
Changing to different line of work = 36
Major change in work responsibilities = 29
Trouble with boss = 23
Major change in working conditions = 20

PERSONAL

Major personal injury or illness = 53
Outstanding personal achievement = 28
Major revision of personal habits = 24
Major change in recreation = 19
Major change in church activities = 19
Major change in sleeping habits = 16
Major change in eating habits = 15
Vacation = 13

SOCIAL

Detention in jail = 63
Sexual difficulties = 39
Death of a close friend = 37
Start or end of formal schooling = 26
Major change in living conditions = 25
Changing to a new school = 20
Change in residence = 20
Change in social activities = 13
Minor violations of the law = 11

FAMILY

Death of a spouse = 100
Divorce = 73
Marital separation = 65
Death of a close family member = 63
Marriage = 50
Marital reconciliation = 45
Major changes in health of family = 44
Pregnancy = 40
Addition of new family member = 39
Major changes in arguments with spouse = 35
Son or daughter leaving home = 29
In-law troubles = 29
Spouse starting or ending work = 26
Major changes in family get-togethers = 15

FINANCIAL

Major change in financial state = 38
Mortgage or loan over $10,000 = 31
Mortgage foreclosure = 30
Mortgage or loan less than $10,000 = 17

TOTAL POINTS = _____

Total points = 0-150 = Low ambient or normal stress level
Total points = 150-300 = Normal stress level for most people
Total points = 300 or more = Above normal stress level for most people

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Part 1 of this series was a questionnaire to determine whether a respondent has a stress-prone personality. Part 2 assessed individual stress levels. Part 3 measures stress levels related to life event changes.

This series of questionnaires are adapted from Stress Recognition and Resolution training.

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"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him." Viktor Frankl

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A personal note: After inputting this questionnaire, it was erased somehow before it could be posted and had to be redone. Since this related to stress recognition, I sighed heavily then began again. Yelling and screaming weren't going to help re-gain the lost material. Oh, well. Stuff happens. :)