The Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale
When you are working on your personal healing, it is very important to know where you are on the stress scale. If your stress is very high, you will want to take more actions to take better care of yourself while you are going through major change.
Death of spouse
100
Divorce
73
Marital separation
65
Jail term
63
Death of close family member
63
Personal injury or illness
53
Marriage
50
Fired at work
47
Marital reconciliation
45
Retirement
45
Change in health of family member
44
Pregnancy
40
Sex difficulties
39
Gain of new family member
39
Business readjustment
39
Change in financial state
38
Death of close friend
37
Change to a different line of work
36
Change in number of arguments with spouse
35
A large mortgage or loan
31
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan
30
Change in responsibilities at work
29
Son or daughter leaving home
29
Trouble with in-laws
29
Outstanding personal achievement
28
Spouse begins or stops work
26
Begin or end school/college
26
Change in living conditions
25
Revision of personal habits
24
Trouble with boss
23
Change in work hours or conditions
20
Change in residence
20
Change in school/college
20
Change in recreation
19
Change in church activities
19
Change in social activities
18
A moderate loan or mortgage
17
Change in sleeping habits
16
Change in number of family get-togethers
15
Change in eating habits
15
Vacation
13
Christmas
12
Minor violations of the law
11
Note: If you experienced the same event more than once, then to gain a more accurate total, add the score again for each extra occurrence of the event.
Score Interpretation
300+
You have a high or very high risk of becoming ill in the near future.
150-299
You have a moderate to high chance of becoming ill in the near future.
<150
You have only a low to moderate chance of becoming ill in the near future.
This table is taken from “The Social Readjustment Rating Scale”, Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Volume 11, Issue 2, August 1967, Pages 213-218, Copyright © 1967 Published by Elsevier Science Inc.
Sometimes it is very helpful to have a left-brain understanding of what you are actually processing. You can use this scale also to understand your friends and loved ones.
If you are under more stress, that means you will need to take even better care of yourself. As we say in my yoga class, thank God for yoga! I would also thank God for qi gong, meditation, tai chi, my hammock, my dog Belle and days off to rest. Come in for Reiki or reflexology or schedule an appointment for kinesiology or life coaching to clear the emotions behind your stress.
