Stress now and later

Stress now and later

(not intended to diagnose or prescribe)
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In the coming day make time and take time – 5 to 15 minutes or more each day – for yourself. To be kind to yourself: listen to music you love, take a walk, spend time in silence, sit and do nothing, meditate or do self hypnosis.
The article below is a good reminder of the continual stress we are under in today's world.
70 percent of the presenting issues in a clinical setting are stress related, meaning they started from a stressor in the persons life.
I have personally felt the load of stress via death of spouse and know the physical and mental changes it can bring about in a very short amount of time.
A question I ask nearly client, regardless of issue is, “What happened 3, 6 or 9 months ago?” For some issues I go back even further, depending on how long the issue has been present.


Stress-Proofing Programme by Leon Chaitow, 1985 Thorsons Publishers Ltd
pgs 14 through 18
Stress and Changes in Lifestyle
This scale is based on the work of T.H. Holmes and R.H. Rahe (Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1967, No.11) and is meant as a guide to the assessment of measurable stress factors, resulting from having to adjust to change. There are many other sources of stress, but it is true to say that a high score on this chart (300 or more) over a short time-span (six months or so), is a strong indicator (affecting 80 per cent of people) of the likelihood of major illness becoming apparent. If the score is relatively high, anything from 150 to 299 points, about 50 per cent of people become ill soon afterwards, and if under 150 points are scored, fewer than 30 percent become ill. The higher the score, the greater the need for stress-proofing.


Changes in Lifestyle Scale
Death of husband of wife 100
Divorce 73
Marital separation 65
Jail sentence or being institutionalized 63
Death of close member of family 63
Illness of injury 53
Marriage 50
Los of job 47
Reconciliation with marriage partner 45
Retirement 45
Health problem of close member of family 44
Pregnancy 40
Sex problems 39
Addition to family 39
Major change at work 39
Change in financial status 39
Death of friend 37
Change in line of work 36
Change in number of marital arguments 35
Large mortgage taken out 31
Mortgage or loan foreclosed 30
Responsibility change 29
Child leaves home 29
In-law problems 29
Personal achievement realized 28
Wife starts or stops work 26
Start at new school 26
Leaving school 26
Change in living conditions 25
Change in personal habits 24
Trouble with employer 23
Change in working hours 20
Change in residence 20
Change in recreation 19
Change in church activities 19
Change in social activities 18
Small mortgage taken out 17
Change in sleeping habits 16
Change in number of family get-togethers 15
Major change in eating pattern 15
Holiday 13
Christmas 12
Minor violation of law 11


It is known that these scores and positions on the scale vary in different cultures. Different belief systems place the stress of marriage higher in Europe than in Japan.


There is another element in life which often can produce more stress than the events themselves. This is the highly charged area of anticipated problems or events. While losing a job is indeed high-scoring stress factor, the anticipation of the loss presents potentially greater stress by virtue of time-scale involved. Once a job has been lost, the reality of the situation determines that the individual does something about the matter. Looking for a new job, making financial arrangements, etc, are all stressful, but are in fact responses to the event.
Conflicts, real or imagined, between the individual and other people or groups is a further major stress factor.
External stress factors, while easy to identify, are less easy to measure and control. There might include excessive noise (construction), exposure to excessive heat (bakers), cold (working in cold-storage areas) boring or repetitive occupations (assembly line workers) and factors of commuting on an unreliable transportation system or driving in heavy traffic for hours every day.


Over the next few months give yourself the gifts of: extra grace, a laugh or 10 and smile.
Be well, stay well and get well.
Jessica L Hanson CHt LLC