What is Stress?

According to Hans Selye, the Montreal psychologist and stress "expert," stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it.  In short, everything a person has to adjust to in any way is stressful to some degree.  Life is a stress class.  Body chemistry and electricity respond to the continual stimulus of inner and outer conditions in a holistic way.  In other words, the body and mind are affected as a whole.  When stress becomes harmful because the body's adaptability is overtaxed; the person technically becomes distressed. 

In simplest terms imagine that your adaptability is your degree of flexibility.  Will you bend or break?  The pull exerted on a piece of elastic is stress.  It's degree of stretchability is its resilience.  Some people can handle a great deal of stress; others reach their breaking point more quickly. 

Selye says that we re each born with a limited adaptability; that some people are inherently stronger than others.  Other sources say that this ability to adapt depends on heredity, character, temperament, age, sex, state of health, emotional balance, past experience, and environment. 

Stress Can Be External or Internal 
Some examples of inner stress are: 

 * Hunger, thirst, frustrated sexual drives 
 * Insecurity 
 * Perfectionism 
 * Conflicting choices ("the craziness 
    comes from too much choice" 
    - Joni Mitchell) 
 * Any adverse conditioning such as 
    stereotyping sex roles and other 
    possible ideas.  Any expectations 
    that are either too idealistic to live 
    up to or incongruous to your 
    intrinsic personality.  (In other 
    words, trying to push yourself into
    unrealistic models rather than 
    being yourself.)  Too many 
    "shoulds." 
 * Symbolic meaning of events. eg: 
    "If this person leaves me it proves 
    that I am not worth loving." 
 * A desire to control outside events 
    you have no power over 
 * Emotional sets: fears, worries, 
    phobias, compulsions. 
 * Your belief system: What do you 
    accept as truths?  How does this 
    affect your stress level? 

Some examples of outer stress are: 

 * Heat, cold, the weather 
 * Social relationships: e.g. becoming 
    a middle-aged woman in this 
    society, relationships that are either 
    too limiting or too undefined, blind 
    role-playing, etc. 
 * Job stresses 
 * Diet: e.g. lack of proper nutrition 
    (vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc.) 
 * Pollution: smog, noise, transportation 
    hassles.