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LIFE'S TOP 59 DISEASE-PROMOTING EVENTS
Les,
About six months ago, I moved from Chicago to the Atlanta suburbs for a new job. Both new situations are going pretty well, but I’ve been sicker with colds and the flu than I’ve ever been before. You’d think that moving from a colder to warmer climate would make for fewer colds, but that’s not the way it’s worked out. Is it possible that moving and changing jobs are to blame, and if so, how much longer should I expect the stress of these events to make me sick?
Moving on
Dear Moving on,
It’s definitely possible that your recent geographical and professional moves triggered your sick-a-thon because they are two life events most associated with increased susceptibility to illness. Your positive feelings about the changes demonstrates that even things widely perceived as good like increased salary, marriage, and vacation can cause stress. Change, especially life-changing events such as relocating and job switching, is stress’s best friend. Because these types of stressors are more substantial and longer-lasting than say stubbing your toe or losing your cell phone, they are much more likely to start a physiological chain of events that often leads to medical and emotional ailments including lingering skin issues, respiratory infections, headaches, irregular digestion, fatigue, sleep problems, depression, and much more.
A half-century of study has produced many lists of top life-changing events, including Holmes and Rahe’s groundbreaking Schedule of Life Experiences. Based on that checklist, here’s an approximate ranking of these change agents from most-to-least likely to make us sick. NOTE: Before you read it and call 9-1-1, know that getting into debt does not insure getting kidney stones, just as breaking up with a partner does not automatically spark a nervous breakdown. Similarly, our unique personalities and life experiences mean that interpretations of these events will vary from person to person.
All of these surveys are best viewed as calls to action. If you have experienced one or more of the events below in the past year or so, actively manage your stress to reduce that increased risk of getting sick. Your efforts can be targeted debt reduction, for example, and/or practicing a technique like meditation that can blunt the impact of stress no matter the source.
Life's Top 59 Disease-Promoting Events
- Death of a spouse or partner
- Unwanted pregnancy
- Fathering an unwanted pregnancy
- Miscarriage
- Acquisition of a visible deformity
- A jail sentence
- Got into debt without means of repayment
- Breakup of family
- Divorce or breakup of a long-term relationship
- Infidelity by a partner or spouse
- Death of an immediate family member
- Immediate family member attempts suicide
- Immediate family member starts heavy drinking or other drug use
- Unemployed (with primary financial responsibility)
- Serious physical illness or injury requiring hospitalization
- Separation from significant relationship
- An abortion
- Sudden impairment of vision or hearing
- Problems related to alcohol or other drugs
- Immediate family member goes to prison
- Immediate family member seriously ill
- Death of a close friend
- Retirement
- Got fired
- Extra-marital/relational affair
- Reconciliation with partner or spouse
- Sexual problems
- Increase in arguments with spouse, partner, or someone else with whom you are intimately involved
- Period of homelessness
- New job in new line of work
- Suspension from school
- Got married
- Behavioral problems of your children
- Pregnancy of you or partner
- Prolonged ill health requiring medical or psychological treatment
- Breakup of affair
- Increase in family arguments
- Serious restriction of social life
- Your child left home
- Outstanding personal achievement
- Your children are in the care of others for long period of time
- Change in parent(s) financial status
- Gain new family member (brother, sister, etc.)
- Purchasing own house with mortgage
- Moving
- Promotion or significant change in work responsibilities
- Problems with superior at work
- Income increased by 25%
- Spouse or partner begins or stops work
- Involved in a physical fight
- Job change in same line of work
- Went on vacation
- Trouble with in-laws
- Change in work hours or environment
- Convicted of a minor violation
- Argument with neighbors
- Got new neighbors
- Major holidays
- A bad haircut :)
Les
4/07
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