Every day we face a wild roller coaster of ups and downs that can both stress us out or lift our spirits. Think about how stressful it is when your Wi-Fi goes down, but then how happy you feel when you find an extra pack of your favorite chips in the pantry!

Major Life Events Approach (Holmes and Rahe, 1967)

• 🎩 Big Picture: These researchers looked at big events in life like getting married or losing a spouse.
• 🔢 How it Works: They used a "life-changing unit score (LCU)" to measure how disruptive events were compared to marriage (scored at 50).
• 😲 Interesting Find: Death of a spouse required the highest level of adjustment!
• 🤒 Stress Alert: If your score was over 200, you were in danger of stress-related illness!

Real-World Example: Imagine you are planning a wedding. Exciting, right? But also stressful! Holmes and Rahe would say that if you also had to move houses and start a new job, you might be at risk for severe stress.

Daily Hassles Approach (Kanner et al, 1981)

• 🎩 Big Picture: Forget big events, these folks said that little daily annoyances like traffic jams or losing your phone could really stress us out.
• 😃 But Wait, There’s Good News: They also looked at "uplifts," positive events that can help balance the negative.
• 📈 Findings: Daily hassles were actually stronger predictors of stress symptoms than big life events.
• 🚺🚹 Gender Differences: Women seemed to be affected by both positive and negative changes more than men.

Real-World Example: You might feel stressed if you're stuck in traffic on the way to a soccer match, but later that evening, watching a movie with friends could be an uplift that balances your day!

• 🧠 Lazarus and Colleagues' Insight: Positive experiences can act like a cushion against stressful events. A good night's sleep or praise from a teacher could really turn things around!
• 🌱 McLean’s Thought: Even tiny stressors (or ‘microstressors’) could pile up and create big problems if not balanced by good stuff.