Stress: The link between life changes and illness & injury

The Life Events Inventory as a predictor for injury and illness – The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale – take the test below

Stress: The link between life changes and illness & injury

It may seem almost blatantly obvious that major life changes contribute to stress but it may not be as obvious that multiple major life changes within one year correlate with a higher risk of injury or illness.

We too often take it for granted that life changes alter a person’s social roles and relationships, such as mar­riage, divorce, job change, serious illness, or the death of a loved one, and thus, they increase a person’s susceptibility to stress, and in turn contribute if not directly cause a host of physical, mental and emotional ailments and illnesses. The ripples of stress will often last for a year or even longer.

In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe examined the medical records of over 5,000 medical patients as a way to determine whether stressful events might cause illnesses. Patients were asked to tally a list of 43 life events based on a relative score. A positive correlation of 0.118 was found between their life events and their illnesses. Their results were published as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) – now known as the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. Rahe went on to test the validity of their Stress Scale with a group of 2,500 US sailors as well as other groups of different populations within the United States (with African, Hispanic and White American groups.) All of the results support the links between stress and illness.

Below is the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, a list of forty-three stressful events that are believed to contribute to illness. It can also be viewed as a life events inventory. When completing the inventory, check the boxes based on events that occurred within the past twelve months.

You can also take the Stress Test – a powerful way of determining if you have a problem and helping you to identify the symptoms of stress. 

Holmes and Rahe found that scores of:

• 150 – 199 points increase your likelihood of illness by 40%
• 200 – 299 points increase your likelihood of illness by 50%
• 300 and above increase your likelihood of illness by 80%

When assessing the full implications of the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, it is also important to take into account other factors such as your personality, temperament, how you react to change, the support system you have in place and the meaning of each life change. For example, while a divorce is stressful, it might be preferable to continuing to live in an abusive or unhappy marriage and as such, the divorce could quickly result in a lowering of stress.

Dr. Steve Burns is a graduate of U.C.L.A. Medical School and a practicing physician since 1974. Dr. Burns has identified what he terms as the common ‘weak links’ in the physical body, and the symptoms of their malfunction:

• Brain OVERSTRESS
  Fatigue, aches and pains, crying spells, depression, anxiety attacks, sleep disturbance
• Gastrointestinal Tract
  Ulcer, cramps and diarrhea, colitis, irritable bowel
• Glandular System
  Thyroid gland malfunction
• Cardiovascular
  High blood pressure, heart attack, abnormal heart beat, stroke
• Skin
  Itchy skin rashes
• Immune System
  Decreased resistance to infections and neoplasm

You can also take the Stress Test – a powerful way of determining if you have a problem and helping you to identify the symptoms of stress.

To reduce stress, help restore calm, use my hypnosis audio program, Relax Now  or my hypnosis audio program, Get Over It.

Hot Products List:

Quit Smoking Hypnosis
Stop Smoking Hypnosis
Weight Loss Hypnosis

Patrick Wanis Ph.D.

Anointed “The Woman Expert” by WGN Chicago, Patrick Wanis PhD is a renowned Celebrity Life Coach, Human Behavior & Relationship Expert who developed SRTT therapy (Subconscious Rapid Transformation Technique) and is teaching it to other practitioners. Wanis’ clientele ranges from celebrities and CEOs to housewives and teenagers. CNN, BBC, FOX News, MSNBC & major news outlets worldwide consult Wanis for his expert insights and analysis on sexuality, human behavior and women’s issues. Wanis is the first person ever to do hypnotherapy on national TV – on the Montel Williams show.