Stress: it's hard to live with it, but it's impossible to live without it. As humans, we are bombarded by a host of subtle and not so subtle internal and external stresses from the moment we awake in the morning until we finally drift into deep sleep at day's end. Even during our sleeping episodes, noise, temperature, changes, and other activities can be sources of stress. Rarely does a day go by without someone you know talking about being under stress from homework, financial pressures, relationship demands, or other problems. Despite our best efforts to ignore it, stress cannot be run from, hidden from, or wished away. For some people, stress provides the stimulus for growth and higher levels of achievement. Yet for others, it increases the likelihood of dysfunctional of abnormal behavior or illness.
Stress in itself is neither positive nor negative. Rather, our reactions to stress can be positive or negative. Whether we are aware of it or not, our reactions to stress can become the habits that lead us to health-enhancing personal growth or to debilitation in the form of migraines, alcohol and drug addition, eating disorders, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, and hypertension. In addition, stress can lead to psychological and social problems, including dysfunctional relationships.
Most stress is self-imposed and is usually the result of an internal state of emotional tension that occurs in response to the various demands of living. Stress may manifest itself in physiological responses to the demands placed upon us. Stress is the mental and physical response of our bodies to the changes in our lives. In addition, a stressor is any physical, social, or psychological event or condition that causes our bodies to have to adjust to a specific situation.
Positive stress, or stress that presents the opportunity for personal growth and satisfaction is called eustress. Getting married, starting school, and learning a new physical skill all give rise to eustress. Distress, or negative stress, is caused by those events, such as financial problems, injury or illness, and the breakup of a relationship, that result in debilitative stress.
| General Adaptation Syndrome | Sources of Stress | Harmful Effects of Stress | Stress Management |
In addition to this information, here are some stress related web sites that you should visit:
