Stress rating scale

In a now famous American study from 1967, Dr. Thomas H. Holmes and Dr. Richard H. Rahe developed a do-it-yourself stress test called the "Social Readjustment Rating Scale." To find your stress level, circle every experience that you have had in the last 12 months and total the points.

Holmes and Rahe consider a score of less than 150 to be minor stress. Those who score 150-199 are experiencing mild stress, 200-299 are experiencing moderate stress, and a score over 300 is someone experiencing major stress.

It is estimated that 35% of those with a score below 150 will experience an illness or accident within two years, while those with a score between 150 and 300 have a 51% chance, and those with a score over 300 have an 80% chance of a significant illness or accident.

Although you might not be able to control the stressful events in your life, you do have control over your response to them and the effect that they have on your life. The negative effects of stress can be reduced by such things as getting enough rest, exercise, good nutrition, and taking some time for yourself. Visit Fact sheets for more info...

From the "Social Readjustment Rating Scale" by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe. This scale was first published in the "Journal of Psychosomatic Research", Copyright 1967, vol.II p. 214. It is used by permission of Pergamon Press Ltd.)