Mind, Body and Health
Holmes Rahe Inventory
It was really interesting looking at this Holmes Rahe Inventory as it gave me an insight into my stress levels within the last year. The score I received was 183 which puts me in the 150-300 point category, this implies that I have about a 50% chance of a major health breakdown within the next 2 years. I know that I have had a lot of change within the last year however I did not realise that it could have such a major impact on my life in the next 2 years.
The scale is a really useful tool as it shows the level of stress in a person’s life and can determine what effects the stress you have experienced in the last year can have on your health and how you will be effected by it.
In the past year, I have left secondary school, started university, got a job and my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer (only to name a few things). As these stresses happened, I became very quiet and easily angered, these are traits which I am not prone to and so I knew and my family and peers knew something was happening. It has been a really challenging year for me however I believe that it has made me a better and stronger person as I am facing new hurdles which I am trying to overcome.
Overcoming my stress has been a gradual process as one thing happened after another and just as one thing was over another one came along. However, coping with them included a lot of crying, time to myself, and most importantly the support of my family and my peers. Without this support, I could not have coped the way I have done, they were there for me to talk to and share my worries and stresses with, and in return I have and will continue to support them as they have done with me. It was also good to have the support of my peers as they were in a similar position to myself and so we could talk about our worries together and support each other through these times.
Stress Hardiness
The “Hardiness and Social Support as Moderators of Stress” (Pengilly and Dowd, 2000) study conducted an investigation into the moderating effect of social support, hardiness, and the pieces of the hardiness scale of commitment, challenge, and control on the relationship between stress and depression. Hardiness is a person’s ability to bounce back from a situation – often known as resilience.
Factors which can have a negative impact on your health include: stress, loneliness, lack of social support, normative life transitions and non- normative life transitions.
Normative life events are things which people are expected to happen in their lives such as moving house or retiring. These events although predicted, can negatively affect a person’s life and cause them to stress temporarily however not cause a long-lasting effect.
On the contrary, non- normative life events are things which are unpredictable such as losing a job or getting a divorce. These life events can cause great stress on an individual and lead them to health problems such as coronary heart disease, cancer and other disorders.
Loneliness is another factor which can have a negative impact on your health. Loneliness is the feeling of having no support or having no one to talk to. Loneliness is often confused with being alone which is more of a physical sense where someone is sitting alone or is alone in their room. If a person is alone, they are not necessarily lonely as they could have chosen to be alone and know that they have support around them. Loneliness is a personal feeling and a have major health effects on a person’s life, they are more susceptible of having major depression and becoming ill as they have a diminished immune function. It can increase a person’s risk of becoming ill by 4 times the normal.
Lack of social support is another factor which has effect on a person’s health. Having social support is when people have others around them who they can talk to and lean on when they are struggling. It allows people to talk about their problems and gain guidance on their issues to try and resolve them in a time of crisis. However, if a person lacks this social support, they are going to physically find it harder to cope with their crisis, and take longer to recover from it as they have no one to get better for, they are only doing it for themselves as they have no support around them.
From this input, I have learned that there are many different methods that are used to try and combat these issues and support your own physical lifestyle. These can include exercise, because exercise releases endorphins to make you happier and less stressed. Finding someone who you can talk to as you can lean on them for support and talk through your worries with them, making you less lonely and isolated. Having a support network who can support you and you can support them – whether it is family or friends. A sense of touch is also proven to be beneficial for a person to have as it can lower blood pressure, decrease stress levels and reduce tension. It can be anything from a hug to a simple pat on the back. Also, trying to be optimistic can be beneficial as if you are being optimistic you are believing in yourself and are more likely to feel happy and this means your stress levels should increase and have a better outlook on different situations.
