Top 30 Most Stressful Life Events
By Mariella
10 months ago
1. Health Problems
Image Source/ RedditI felt like this had to be definitely number one in the list of most stressful life events, it is the scariest thing that can happen to either you or your loved ones. Having a health problem can either be a temporary or permanent thing. I personally think it's such a stressful thought to be poorly, even to have a common cold is an annoyance for everybody; especially if you have a busy lifestyle, don't you agree? However, on the brighter side, in these days there is so many things available for someone who is poorly and many things being discovered; hopefully in the future we will never have to worry about being poorly again!2. Death Of A Loved Member
Ladies, this life event is a dark one but we gotta be real, the stress that comes with a close relative adds on to the grief you have to deal with it. However, this is a different type of stress its more of an overthinking on what your going to do without the loved one... its an extremely painful bump in the road that everyone is forced to be put through in their lifestyle. The stress of having to think about funerals when grieving is not helpful whatsoever, everyone wants a lovely send off but you are forced to think about the passing more...
3. Financial Problems
Image Source/ Reddit
Just like this man in the picture above, when someone is struggling financially they feel so desperate to feel secure in their day-to-day lifestyle. Financially struggling is such a relevant time for families around the world, the prices for everything are rocketing through roofs. Struggling for money is a stress that is nobodies fault, yet majority of people still have to deal with it and push through it somehow, people may do this by working an extra job or by giving many things up that mean a lot to them.
4. Family Issues
Image Source/ TooFab
Ladies, let's be real, sometimes family issues can be as petty as the Kardashian's small dramas like the picture above; if this is the case usually the family members arguing won't speak for a day or two then it'll be absolutely fine at the next family event! However, sometimes it can be the total opposite and be a very serious issue between family members; when this happens the split that emerges in the family can become permanent and lead to the two sides not speaking to each other. When this happens, it can be a very stressful thing as you may miss family members but they don't feel the same.
5. Moving House
Moving house is such an exciting time: new sofa, new kitchen, new garden, practically a new life for you when you walk through that new door! However, we can't sugar coat it all the time, in movies it is shown to be such an easy task for a family to move house but we all know it is the total opposite! Packing EVERYTHING up; trying to be organised and then the stress of finding new furniture that is absolutely perfect for your new home is just a pain aswell, especially if you are wanting a whole new vibe in your home.
6. Getting Married
Your wedding day, the MOST important day of your life that must be absolutely perfect otherwise it will send all us ladies into tears... The amount of stress that couples put on themselves to try and create the most memorable event of peoples lives is diabolical, I'm so surprised people stay excited for their wedding day after all the stress they have to deal with. I guess, after all the craziness, that it does end in a gorgeous way and all guests always end up watching a beautiful ceremony for the bride and groom!
7. Having A Baby
Gosh, I think this is a huge life event for everybody on this earth, it is such an amazing time for the family when a little one comes around! However, us women must talk about the struggle of having a baby and to stop sugar coating it immediately as many women believe it to be easier than it really is. The stress of having to push through sleepless nights multiple times and only able to sleep in little spaces in the day while your baby has dozed off for a bit. The stress of having a baby is balanced out massively by the love you gain for the little one, it's the only thing that keeps you going really!
8. Divorce
Ladies, this can either be the best or worst time of your life, it most definitely depends on your situation that you are in! However, it still must be in the top 10 in most stressful life events; how are you going to live your life with this MAJOR change? Ladies, the thought of how your children are going to cope with it is just another story of stress; are they going to be okay and how should you behave around them? Many questions will be constantly running through your mind to try and figure out your life!
9. Sitting Exams
Ladies, can we all agree here that exams are one of the most stressful things you went through in your teenage years? I don't know how we did it to be honest, studying for hours and hours non stop until our heads killed! You literally would be in a depressing cycle of: school, studying, eating, bed. Over and over again. People can really allow exams to get into their heads and let it take over every thought they have in their day to day life, even in their dreams! Looking back, I am so glad I never have to do that ever again because that is such a brain wrecking time, don't you agree?
10. Being Fired At Work
Have you ever had a perfect job for your lifestyle and you're sacked for a minuscule reason? I personally would never wish this upon anyone as it is such an annoying and stressful thing that can happen. The stress of wondering what you're going to do with your life and how you're going to sort the situation out as quick as possible, it's a crazy time! At this point, you will be putting blood, sweat and tears into finding as good of a job for your to carry on your career; finding a job exactly the same as your old one will be practically impossible, its quite depressing thinking about it!
11. Having a large late payment
Many people may have not of had to deal with this massive life scare and the huuuuge amount of stress that drags along with it! Ladies, the stress of having to stack up pennies after pennies and scrip and scrape just to pay that payment just so you don't get into trouble! The stress that comes with the scrip and scraping however is bonkers! You overthink what will happen if you physically can't pay this payment, will your business bust or will your bank be in touch soon to see if you're spending on things you're not able to pay!
12. Starting a business
Image Source/ Reddit
The excitement that fulfils your body when you're about to become an entrepreneur is impeccable, you literally feel you are onto of the world! After all the 'theory' of your business is done with your are bombarded with problems to get your business up and running, and ladies they aren't easy problems to solve! The stress that then replaces the excitement in you may become way too much for you to handle, this is why many new business owners end up failing because they can't handle it anymore at all!
13. Being Evicted
Well, this life event is quite obviously stressful, this situation is absolutely and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone! Just the thought of knowing that if you don't get a roof over your children's heads within a few weeks time means you will be homeless until you can find a house! It it absolutely awful that innocent families are having to undergo this horrendous event, the amount of pressure and stress that is pushed onto the family when this is dropped on them is traumatic for them to deal with for a long amount of time!
14. Retirement
This may not go to may of you reading but it is a huge warning to a bump in the road to something you might think is quite a relaxing time in your life! Don't get me wrong, no job equals to no job stress however you are undergoing a humongous change in your life! You are jumping from having money in your pocket and being around people constantly to not having much extra money anymore and becoming quite lonely at times, you also become extremely bored as there isn't much to do anymore compared to how busy you used to be!
15. Abortion
This is such a sad life event that many women have to go through for many reasons, maybe they can’t afford a child or they may not feel ready mentally for a baby - the list can sadly go on… Making the decision of abortion however is an extremely stressful process for a woman as it can lead to severe mental health problems for the woman afterwards, sometimes it’s the guilt and sometimes it may be the regret a woman will have to struggle with after undergoing abortion or during the process of abortion!
16. Being Sent To Prison
Image Source/ Reddit
This is obviously such a humongous life event for anybody that has to be put through this! Although many people may disagree with me here, but when people who are in families are sent to prison the amount of pressure that they are having to deal with on top of their crimes is very stressful! They have to think on who is going to bring up their children while they are away and that can be such an upsetting thing to deal with, the fact they can’t be there for their children! Also, the stress of what that person is going to do once they are out of prison and how they are going to support their family!
17. Coming Out!
Image Source/ Reddit
Ladies, let’s not forget about the extremely high stress levels all members of the LGBTQ+ have to deal with when they are ready to spread the news about their sexuality due to the opinions of some people who sadly don’t support it! Just think about it, having to be confident in yourself to stand up against all the haters to who you truly are, it can be quite soul crushing for some unfortunately! However, many are capable to be loud and proud on who they are and block all haters out their lives to live a happy life !
18. Pet Dying
Some people really do depend on their pet as a shoulder to cry on and a best friend for life! People would rather have five dogs in their home than two children because they feel like they can enjoy their time with them more! So, when someone’s pet passes away it can be an extremely traumatic time for them and the stress someone goes through on what they are going to do with their lives now that significant animal isn’t there, it can be the same pain to the loss of a loved relative or a life long friend…
19. Dealing With Addiction
Another extremely stressful life event that many people in society struggle with is dealing with addiction. Many people get stuck in a cycle of addiction with many things; it could be gambling, drugs, alcohol, the list could go on! However, many people don’t choose to be stuck in this cycle of addiction and they are sadly unnoticeably pushed into it! Once you’re stuck in addiction, you don’t know how to get out of it and the stress of being stuck can be quite detrimental for many people’s mental health permanently!
20. Moving To A New Country
A gurls dream is to have a dreamy house abroad, you see it in the movies and it looks amaaazing! However, it is one of the most stressful life events due to many reasons: you may need to learn a new language, get a new visa, buy a whole new wardrobe full of clothes!! It can be extremely expensive, and that can come with extreme stress, will I be able to afford all this? Also, the stress of making new friends in the new country you live in can make people feel scared to loneliness, what if nobody wants to be my friends?
21. Suffering With Mental Health
Image Source/ Vogue India
This point is such a sad time for someone to go through and a very sentimental thing to write about! However, struggling with mental health has different layers of issues with the different types of mental health issues on how someone thinks, one of those layers can be severe overthinking. And because they are overthinking about many different things, they deal with massive amounts of stress about many different things; one of the things is that they stress about when they might get better for the sake of everyone around them!
23. Caring For A Sick Relative
Have you ever had to look after a relative when they are poorly, maybe your grandma or your brother; either way if you’ve had to take on this responsibility you will know it is an extremely stressful thing to take on in life! Especially if you already have your own children to look after, having to look after another person who needs a lot of attention is a tricky yet very loving job to do and a huge amount of stress comes along with it. Us women may find this job easier due to our maternal instinct but we mustn’t sugar coat it on how hard it is!
24. Failing Your Exams
Image Source/ New York Post
Months and months of studying and trying your best to perform your greatest in the exams you must sit at the end of the school year, it is a lot of stress for a teenager to deal with, can lead to sleepless nights or not eating as much. The stress is extreme! Waiting a few months for your results feels like the days are dragging, then you open it up and you’ve failed the subject you needs… what am I going to do? The stress and sadness that fills your body is gut wrenching and makes the journey to your dream job unnecessarily longer.
25. First Job
Do you remember your first job? I remember i was absolutely terrified walking in there! When you’re getting your job, you are the most innocent version of yourself, how adorableee!! However it must be one of the most stressful life events because the amount of stress that goes into your first job is impeccable, you think about all the things that could go wrong like you have something in your teeth on your first day and everyone thinks your a weirdo! It’s quite funny looking back at it and i’m sure you can agree as it didn’t need to be that stressful!
26. Graduation Of School
Image Source/ RedditThinking back at leaving school, it is a super scary time for you; you are such a vulnerable person not knowing much about the real life every adult lives! Then soon as you have graduated, you are thrown into the world of responsibility and work; it’s quite depressing. But that feeling of being chucked into the real world is a very stressful time for young people and not a lot of people know how to cope very with it all, this is why it is one of the most stressful life events due to the pressure many young people are put under!27. Interviews
Image Source/ RedditObviously this point isn’t just one life event, it occurs many times in people’s lives… However, every time someone has to go to an interview you always feel that nervousness in your stomach and that always causes you to stress! The researching about the business and making sure you know every little detail to impress the interviewer, it’s very stressful for everyone! Even what you wear to the interviews is a very stressful thing, every little thing about you must impress that interviewer no matter what!28. Running Late To An Important Event
Image Source/TheSunHave you ever woken up at 8:50 and you're supposed to be working into work at that time? Ladies, we have all had that one bad day where we end up at work looking like the picture above due to the fact that you have had to sprint around your house and to work trying to deal with the stress that comes with running late. Running late is so stressful that it actually can make you forget things, for example to brush your hair, so you then look like a total idiot at work that day!29. Loss Of Virtual Working
Image Source/ Chicago TribuneI’m sure many of you worked from home after the coronavirus lockdown situation, many people did! When this came around many people became more involved with their home life, for example many people bought dogs for their families as they had time to be there and look after it! However when businesses wanted people back at the offices, the stress of not being home as much anymore was extreme, who’s going to look after the kids after school? I’m sure many of you are going through this stress at the moment and i feel for you ladies!30. Finding Out Santa Isn’t Real
Image Source/ RedditI know this one isn’t as serious as the rest but if you think about it, finding this out does change you as a child! Every year you traditionally write your letter to Father Christmas and wish he gets you everything, it is such a magical time for children and it’s very cute to watch! Then one day you are exposed to the reality when you find out he’s not real, for a child it is such a stressful time as you start to question everything else you have believed in like the tooth fairy and the easter bunny!31. Death of a spouse
image source: reddit.com
The death of any loved family member is one of the most horrible things you can go through, but the death of a spouse is one of the most stressful. Not only do you have to deal with the devastating grief, heartbreak and change of daily routine, but it means dealing with all the stressful legal issues like what they left in their will, how you're going to pay bills, insurance policies etc.32. Going through a separation
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Of course, the above can still apply if you aren't married, but there are a lot less legal things to deal with when you were officially married. Going through any type of breakup remains one of the stressful things that can happen in life, especially if you've been together for years and you shared assets like a house, or even children. Any separation is an upheaval!33. Trying to remain friendly with an ex-spouse
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As if going through a separation wasn't stressful enough, what can make it even worse is if you have to try and reconcile with an ex-partner. This can happen if you still need to share custody of something - most commonly, children - and need to work through your differences to try and remain on good terms. This can make it even harder because you can't just never see them again and move on!34. Pregnancy
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Having a baby is obviously one of the most stressful life events you can go through, but so is those months of pregnancy. Not only do you have to deal with the difficult physical changes of your body, and the aches and pains of carrying a baby around, you have to deal with the mental stress of planning for the baby's arrival and how your whole life is going to change.35. Having problems in the bedroom
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Any issues in the s*x department between a couple can be extremely stressful - and the stress itself just makes the situation worse and more pressurised, so around and around we go! Intimacy is important, and couples struggling in the bedroom - whether emotionally, or through physical issues like erectile disfunction - can run into a lot of stress trying to work through it.36. A huge change in work responsibilities
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Work takes up the majority of our lives (unfortunately), which is why even the smallest change with your work responsibilities can throw you off and result in a lot of stress. If you get given a huge change of job responsibilities at work, not only do you still have to put in the work hours, but you then feel like you're starting from scratch on your training wheels, which makes everything ten times harder.37. A child leaving home for the first time
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Your child growing up and leaving home for the very first time is such a bittersweet and stressful time. It's stressful for the huge change in your own routine, but you'll run into more daily stress because you'll be worrying about them until you get used to the change. Not only that, but it'll be stressful trying to help them prepare for the big move and making sure they're okay!38. Not getting along with your in-laws
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When you decide to settle down with a partner, you're also taking on the family in their life - and when you get married, they become more an official part of your life. Which is why one of the most stressful things you can go through is not actually getting along with your in-laws! This makes family meetups something you dread, as well as them potentially always being a thorn in your side no matter what you do.39. A spouse starting or stopping work
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It can be a huge lifestyle and routine change for a spouse to start or stop work. If they've usually been an at-home spouse, then it means the stress of two people working instead of one and trying to get home chores done around that. If they're stopping work, then it means you're faced with being the sole bread winner and all the pressures that come with that.40. A huge change in living conditions
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A big change in your living conditions is just as disruptive as any change in your job routine. Living condition changes could be having to deal with renovations or construction work going on in your home that means you can't relax, or maybe sees you living in a motorhome out back! It could mean living in a hotel while you find a new property, or any issue happening with the general running of your home!41. An upheaval of social routine
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Your social routine is something you come to depend on, it helps you to plan your day and know when you can expect to do things you enjoy around work and life responsibilities. Any huge change in your social routine can cause a lot of stress if it's something you've come to depend on, like your favorite coffee shop closing down, or your friend no longer being able to go out at the weekend when that's the only time you can!42. A complete change in working hours
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One of the biggest changes when it comes to your working hours - and one of the more stressful - is if you go from working days to nights, or vice versa. This huge change in your body clock can equal a lot of stress, both mentally and physically, and especially with sleeping patterns. If you live with other people who have the opposite working hours, it becomes very difficult.43. Taking out a loan
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Taking out a loan - although it enables you to get the money you need in that moment - can be one of the most stressful things, too. Not only are you forced to accept the fact you have no choice but to borrow money - which is stressful enough - but you then have to work out the best deal, plan to pay it back and feel that financial burden get a little heavier.44. Buying a house
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Buying a house can be one of the happiest times of your life - when you've actually got it over and done with and you're in - but the actual search for your perfect home, and then the rigmarole of going through the bank, checks and paperwork, is definitely not enjoyable in the least. Even more so if you're buying a home for just yourself so you have no one to share the burden with.45. Problems with sleeping
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Sleep is so darn important to our everyday mood and health, and there is nothing worse than having any disruption to your sleep that leaves you feel sluggish. Whether it's insomnia, having a partner who snores, or anything keeping you up at night, stress is guaranteed - not only for a cranky mood, but the stress on your body means negative health impacts, too!46. Family meetups
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Any sort of big family meetup can be very stressful - not least because of trying to plan something like that on a large scale at a time that everyone's available. If you're having more and more family meetups, too - if the family is getting larger or there's more to celebrate - it can just mean constant stress of trying to fit it into your calendar (as well as trying to find the energy).47. A change in eating habits
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Sometimes eating habit changes can be for the better (like ditching junk food for healthy food) but that doesn't mean it's stress-free. We depend on our eating routine to be the same every day, our minds and bodies are prepared for it, which is why if a big change happens (like switching from eating meat to being a vegetarian) it can be one of the most stressful changes to get used to.48. Trying to plan a big vacation
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Vacations are there to help you combat the stress - but boy if planning them isn't the most stressful thing you'll ever do. If you're trying to plan a big vacation for a group of people, trying to get everyone to agree on everything, trying to find dates and prices that suit everyone and get everything booked is extremely stressful - to the point it probably makes you want to stay at home instead!49. Planning for Christmas
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Love it or hate it, there's no doubt that Christmas can be one of the most stressful holidays. Some people have to stress about somehow affording to buy gifts for people, others have to stress about what gifts to buy, how to hide them from the kids, how to arrange who's coming to dinner, how to actually cook the dinner without burning it... no wonder some people just take a nap.50. Dealing with stress!
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And just to kick you while you're down, one of the most stressful things you have to deal with in life is just the fact you have to deal with SO much stress. Trying to deal with stress when you're feeling - well, stressed - is one of the most difficult things and can often feel impossible. You know you need to sleep because you're feeling stressed from no sleep, but how can you sleep when you're so stressed?What To Read Next
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