We know that stress negatively affects our health. Today’s blog was prompted by a friend who recently lost her husband. In interacting with her, it was very clear how her psychological state has been compromised. She had difficulty being alone, she was not sleeping well, nor was she eating. She was depressed, was experiencing grief, and not effectively dealing with her psychological emotional state. She was in a state of distress.
Quite a while ago, Dr. Hans Selye wrote about the mind-body connection involved with stress. He defined stress as “a nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it.” More importantly, he believed that it is not stress that harms but distress. Distress occurs when we have prolonged emotional stress, and do not deal with it in a positive manner. He described the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) which consists of three different stages: 1.alarm or fight, the flight response during which the body releases the hormone cortisol and prepares either for battle or retreat; 2. stage of resistance that allows our body to counteract the physiologic changes in response to stress; 3.stage of exhaustion occurs when the body creates a situation of distress and responses can range from extreme fatigue to disease and possibly death.
The following is an External Stress Index. This Tool may assist in evaluating current stress level and is based on external events that occurred within the last six months. All you have to do is add up the appropriate values.
Life Event Value
Death of a spouse 100
Divorce 73
Marital separation 65
Jail or imprisonment 63
Death of a close family member 63
Serious 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
Business readjustment 39
Significant change in financial state 39
Death of a close friend 37
Change to a different line of work 36
Foreclosure of mortgage loan 30
Change in number of arguments with spouse 31
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 26
Change in living conditions 25
Trouble with boss 23
Change in work hour conditions 20
Change in residence 20
Change in schools 20
Gain of new family member 19
New mortgage or significant loan 17
Change in sleeping habits 16
Weight gain or loss over 10 pounds 15
Total score of external stress events -------------
You may have additional external stresses, not mentioned above. In any event, refer to part 2 tomorrow to evaluate your score. Source :Stopping The Clock,Dr's. Klatz &Goldman.
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