Stress Score Calculator — FAQ

The Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) is a checklist of 43 life events developed by psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967. Each event is assigned a Life Change Unit (LCU) value based on how much readjustment it typically required in the original study. You tick the events that have happened to you in the past 12 months and add up the LCUs to get a total score that indicates your overall life-change load.

Based on the original research, the bands are:

• Below 150: A relatively low amount of life change, associated with a lower likelihood of stress-related health changes.
• 150–299: Moderate life change, linked to roughly a 50% statistical likelihood of a health change in the year following in the original study.
• 300 and above: High life change, linked to a greater statistical likelihood — roughly 80% in the original study's terms.

These are general population associations, not personal predictions. The scale has important limits and many people in higher bands experience no health consequences at all.

No. This is a reflective, educational tool — not a medical or psychological diagnosis, and not a personal prediction. Your score shows where you fall on a general population scale, not what will or won't happen to you specifically. The scale has well-documented limitations and many people navigate high-change years without health consequences. Please don't treat your score as a verdict — it's a prompt for self-awareness and, if needed, self-care.

Completely free. No sign-up, no downloads, no limits — and no data is stored or sent to a server. Your selections exist only in your browser while you're using the page.

The Holmes-Rahe scale measures life change and the readjustment it requires, not whether a change is good or bad. Even welcome events — a marriage, a promotion, a new baby — demand significant adaptation. The scale's original hypothesis was that cumulative change, regardless of its emotional valence, creates stress on the body. This is also one of the scale's known limitations: it doesn't distinguish between joyful and painful changes, so two people with identical scores may feel very differently about their year.

No. A high score reflects a high amount of life change — it is not a guarantee or even a reliable personal prediction. The original research found statistical associations between high scores and health changes across a population, but many individuals come through high-change periods in good health, particularly with strong social support, self-care, and good coping strategies. Please read your score as a prompt to look after yourself, not as bad news.

Treat it as a gentle prompt to look after yourself. Practical things that help include getting enough sleep, maintaining regular meals and routine, staying connected with supportive people, and limiting additional unnecessary change where you can. If you're finding things difficult, consider speaking with your GP or a therapist — reaching out for support is a strength. This tool is not a substitute for professional advice.

The scale has several well-documented limitations:

• It assumes everyone experiences the same event in the same way — which isn't true.
• It doesn't account for individual resilience, coping ability, or social support.
• It treats positive and negative change identically.
• It was developed in 1967 with a relatively narrow sample, and life and society have changed considerably since.
• The statistical bands are population-level associations, not individual predictions.

Use the scale as a starting point for reflection, not a definitive assessment of your health or resilience.

No. The events you tick stay in your browser while you're using the page and are not saved, logged, or sent to any server. Nothing is recorded anywhere. When you leave the page, the selections are gone.

If stress is affecting your wellbeing, a doctor or mental health professional can help. Talking to people you trust — friends, family, a counsellor — also matters. This tool provides general information only and is not a substitute for professional care. If you're in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis helpline.