Point values add up to far more stress these days

If it seems tougher than in the past to deal with what life throws your way, you're not the only one who thinks so.

The death of a friend, getting laid off or having a baby takes more adjustment than in the past, according to a study that compares perceptions of life changes today vs. 40 years ago.

"Life just gets more demanding. Today's life is more stressful," says Richard Rahe of Salem, Ore., a psychiatrist who in 1967 co-created the Life Changes Stress Test (also known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale), which is now widely used in stress management.

The online survey of 1,306 adults reproduced a section of Rahe's scale, which assigns point values to life events and gauges the amount of adjustment they require. Marriage was the standard by which other events were measured.

The original scale looked at 42 life ...