What is ‘Stress’?

Stress can be defined as the brain’s response to any demand. Many things can trigger this response, including change. Changes can be positive or negative, as well as real or perceived. They may be recurring, short-term, or long-term and may include things like commuting to and from school or work every day, traveling for a yearly vacation, or moving to another home.

Changes can be mild and relatively harmless, such as winning a race, watching a scary movie, or riding a rollercoaster. Some changes are major, such as marriage or divorce, serious illness, or a car accident. Other changes are extreme, such as exposure to violence, and can lead to traumatic stress reactions.

Stress impacts people in different ways and can have both physical and emotional effects. Everyone feels stressed from time to time. Not all stress is bad. All animals have a stress response, and it can be life-saving. Some people thrive on stress and even need it to get things done. When the term ‘stress’ is used in a clinical sense, it refers to a situation that causes discomfort and distress for a person and can lead to other mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

Therefore, stress can be a good thing but too much of a good thing can become unhealthy.

Stress can result from external factors (e.g., events, environment) or from internal factors (e.g., expectations, attitudes, feelings).

Stress often occurs in response to situations that are perceived as being difficult to handle or threatening. Common causes for stress (called stressors) include illness, injury, fear, and anxiety.

Each person reacts to stress differently. A healthy response to stress begins quickly; is appropriate in degree and in length; and can improve function, motivation, and productivity.