Stress /stres/ n. A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

In 1967, two researchers, Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe, felt that stress could impact one’s health. Combing through the records of over 5000 patients, they found that stress can not only impact a person’s health, it could have a bearing on chronic pain as well. Leave it to a researcher to tell us stress kills! What is unique to their study, however, is that they ranked the top 10 stressors with a point system to reflect how much or how little they impact us. Here are their top 10:
Death of a spouse – 100 points
Divorce – 73 points
Marital separation – 65 points
Imprisonment – 63 points
Death of a close family member – 63 points
Personal injury or illness – 53 points
Marriage – 50 points
Dismissal from work – 47 points
Marital reconciliation – 45 points
Retirement – 45 points

With this point system in place, add up the points you experience in a one year period. If your score is over 150, the risk and likelihood of illness and chronic pain increases substantially.

Now there is good news and bad news to this. The good news is if you never get married, you remove FOUR of the top ten stressors! The bad news is that most of us never saw this scale, and regardless, are or will get married!

This is why we at Lowe-Neddo Funeral Home are committed to providing a personal, memorable and fitting tribute to celebrate the life, love and blessing of those that have died. It is also why we emphasize the importance of planning in advance. We know it is stressful, and we walk with you and guide you through this difficult time. We also know that while we cannot take away from the pain or grief of the moment, we can reduce the stress. In the end, it is about getting the dead where they need to go and the living where they need to be. Living, laughing and loving is your job. Helping you remember and return to that is ours.