In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holm and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Negative events like serious illness of a family member were high on the list. butso were some positive life-changing events like marriage. When you take the Hohnes-Rabe test you must remember that the score docs not reflect how you deal with stress-it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you handle these events dramatically affects your chances of staying healthy.