So what if I haven't been in academia for decades as either student or professor, June puts me in the mood for testing so I hopped online to take one.Having just taken three versions of the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale,* it looks like I'm going to get an A+ for stress; an A++ if neatness counts. Prepping to move in three weeks from where I've lived for nearly 30 years guarantees I'll graduate with honors!
My lowest score was 410, my highest was 561** and not because I counted the deaths of Thelma, Louise, Itty Bit and a few Betta boys as the "loss of a close friend" (35 points) and the "death of a close family member" (60 points) as well as "difficulties with peer group" (30 points).
Going gluten-free ("change in eating habits") was good for 15 points and all questions relative to church and faith added up to 70 points.
On one version I did not cop to "trouble with the law" (65 points) but did on another specifying "minor violations of the law," although getting ticketed for driving around with an expired inspection sticker should have been worth more than 11 points.
On the other hand, I probably should have subtracted a 100 points ─ maybe more?─ because tossing, tidying and packing boosts my endorphin levels.
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*Also known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) and a predictor for illness, the self-assessment was created in 1967 by two male psychiatrists. This sociologist (me) considers the sex status of the developers significant because they assigned no Life Change Units (LCU) to menstruation, perimenopause, menopause, or really bad hair days.
**300 and over = high susceptibility to stress-related illness.
