Life Change Index

Below is a "Life Changes Index Scale" developed by Drs. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe. They believe that the experience of normal change in a person's life - including joyful experiences such as marriage - can be seen as an experience of stress. The degree of stress can be related to the intensity or symbolic significance of the experience, the unexpectedness of the event, or the anticipation of the change, and will vary from individual to individual. In our culture, change (and therefore stress) is an inevitable aspect of normal adult development.

Not all stress items are negative. Some are highly enjoyable, such as vacations or the birth of a child. But life changes totaling 150-200 on the scale within a three to six month period produced an illness in 37% of test subjects. Almost 80% who scored 300 or more became ill.

Check the events that have been true for you in the past year or will occur in the near future. If an event has occurred but is not listed, add it at the bottom and assign a point value in line with similar events on the list. Then total the points.

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Please enter a number from 0 to 500.