What is Stress ?

We hear the term 'stress' being thrown around so often, we may not realize that people mean different things when they're discussing stress. Just what is stress, and what do people mean by the term?

What Is Stress?

First, and answer to the question, 'What is stress?' The term 'stress' refers to the response you have when facing circumstances that force you to act, change, or adjust in some way to maintain your footing, or to keep things balanced. (The circumstances themselves are known as 'stressors', but we'll have more on them later.)

This stress response, also known as the fight-or-fight response, triggers many involuntary changes in your body, which give you an extra burst of energy so that you can fight or run away from perceived threats. This was a helpful response for us in earlier times, when most of the stresses we faced were physical--this burst of physical energy was needed to keep us alive in many cases. Nowadays, though, more and more of our threats are psychological--job stress, interpersonal conflict, etc.--and this response to stress, which can actually make us think less clearly, isn't always necessary, or even helpful.

Chronic Stress

When you face stressors often, and find that you have little control in these situations, you are at risk of experiencing chronic stress, which can affect your health in may negative ways. Having your stress response activated long-term, and not getting your body back to a state of relaxation can tax your system, leaving you overstimulated and depleted at the same time. Studies on health and stress have shown that stress can be a causal or contributing factor to virtually all major illnesses because chronic stress can lower immunity.