Life Transitions, Change, and Healthy Stress Management
August 15, 2013 • By Diann Wingert, LCSW, BCD, Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions Topic
Expert Contributor
The Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (1967) is an often-used inventory that
lists 30 life events and transitions, each of which is ranked and assigned a score. Mind-body
therapists and other practitioners use this assessment to predict the likelihood of illness or a
negative change in health, due to stress, based on the total score for the previous 12 months.
While individual reactions and responses to various life events and transitions vary, the events
listed on this inventory are considered to be stressful—to one degree or another—for the
majority who experience them.
Upon first glance, it makes sense that No. 1 on the list, “death of a spouse,” has the highest
stress score (100 points). What is less clear is why item No. 6, “marriage,” has a score of 50
points, especially when “personal injury or illness” is 53 points. Why would getting married
cause nearly the same amount of stress as a car accident or pneumonia? Why would item No.
19, “trouble with the in-laws,” add 29 points to the total score, while item No. 20,
“outstanding personal achievement,” adds 28 points? How could conflict with relatives be
experienced as just as stressful as winning an award? Well, the reasons lie in our physiology
and the fact human beings are simply hard-wired to have difficulty coping with life transitions
and change, even those they want and welcome.
When things change, even for the better, it is not the outcome which causes stress; it is the
nature of change itself and, more importantly, our perception of it. Life events and transitions
may be positive, negative, or neutral, according to our perception of them. An unintended
pregnancy might be a crisis for one couple and a triumph for another—same event, different
response—according to the perception of the event and the meaning we assign to it.
If a life transition or event is perceived to be negative, it causes distress, while if it is seen as
positive, the result is eustress. These terms were coined by endocrinologist Hans Selye in 1975
in his landmark work on the effects of stress. The mind processes the information and assigns
meaning to the event, but the brain and body react primarily to the fact a change has occurred
and we have moved away from our internal equilibrium. Because this shift occurs whether the
life event is interpreted as positive or negative, the physiological changes that occur are the
same. This is why two events—one that we are excited about and the other which is a huge
disappointment—can have the same or similar stress scores on the Holmes and Rahe
inventory and the same mental, emotional, and physical signs and symptoms and negative
effects on future health.
When stressful life events or transitions occur, our brains and bodies shift away from
homeostasis, a Greek term which literally means “standing still.” Homeostasis refers to the
process by which the body’s internal environment is kept stable. We experience physical,
mental, and emotional changes which Selye referred to as “fight or flight.” The model has
been adapted in recent years to “fight, flight, or freeze” because literally or metaphorically
fighting back or running away isn’t always an option. Until the individual adjusts to the new
circumstances, stress is experienced. Both distress and eustress are equally taxing on the body
and have negative health consequences which are cumulative over time. In order to stay as
healthy as possible, we should pay attention to and monitor the signs and symptoms of stress
and adopt the behaviors that address them in body, mind, and brain.
Some of the physical signs and symptoms of stress are increased blood pressure, muscle
tension, nausea, head, jaw, neck, or back pain, dizziness, sweaty palms, clumsiness, and
shallow breathing. Emotional and mental signs include worry, anxiety, irritability, anger
outbursts, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, depression, confusion, guilt, and memory loss.
Approximately 80% of the complaints that people bring to the attention of their primary-care
doctor are said to be stress-related.
Regular vigorous exercise, a balanced diet and adequate hydration, a positive mental attitude,
and regular practice of meditation, stress reduction, and relaxation techniques go a long way
toward dispelling the effects of stress and helping one stay healthy in spite of life’s ups and
downs. While we can’t control what happens to us, we can control how we perceive it,
respond to it, and cope with it. Most of these techniques can be learned and mastered on your
own. Life is full of transitions and change, and you can learn to deal with them in a healthy
way.
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