Over 60 Exchange

By Bob Brewster

In 1998, I published a book titled "Income Surfing" which provided a formula for developing income over a broad base of different sources.

Now, here it is eleven years later. I am bringing up this fact because in the book we referenced a chart called the "Social Adjustment Rating Scale." This chart was the result of research conducted in 1967 by two psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe who examined the medical records of over 5,000 medical patients as a way to determine whether stressful events might cause illnesses. In 1970, Rahe carried out another study on 2,500 sailors to verify the first stress study as a predictor of illness. This second study confirmed that the stress table was indeed correct and it is still just as true today.

Why is this important to you?

In today's changing times, we are all experiencing pressures from a multitude of directions. The source of these pressures creates stress in our lives. Our actions or reactions to this stress will determine how we react in our relationships with other people.

As we age, stress affects us differently because of how we feel about ourselves. Our ability to overcome stress changes with our perception of our age. A major part of how we "feel" involves our health. Our health is our most precious resource. It needs to be protected to avoid creating a negative affect on the rest of our life. In this time where health care is at the forefront of the news, the best way to save money, now and tomorrow, is to not spend money on avoidable health care problems.

I have recreated the Social Adjustment Rating Scale Chart so that all of you can see exactly where you need to place emphasis for handling this stress and also what decisions you can make that will help you live a better and more controlled life. This is important because life moves in cycles. Sometimes things are perfect and sometimes things are falling apart. How we handle these cycles determines our ability to shorten the bad times and lengthen the good times.

To give you an example of how important your understanding needs to be for how stress affects your life, here's a little test. On a separate piece of paper answer the following questions (The answers will be found when you click on the chart link.)

(1) Are financial problems less or more stressful than a divorce?

(2) Is a home foreclosure less or more stressful than retiring from a job?

(3) Is getting fired or laid off from a job less or more stressful than being arrested for a minor violation of the law?

(4)Is bankruptcy more or less stressful than getting married?

(5) Is having an illness less or more stressful than a spouse that loses his or her job?

Social Adjustment Rating Scale Chart

Many of you will be startled at the answers, as well as where the other stress factors fall in the chart scale. I hope this helps you during these challenging times.