Stress Definition

Stress Definition

What is a good stress definition? You hear about stress all the time. You are sure you have some stressors in your life. But what exactly is stress? How is it defined? What is it that makes stress different from any other terms, such as worry and anxiety?

Stress is actually quite easy to define, as you may have expected. Essentially, stress is a normal physiological response of your body when certain stimuli are presented that your body perceives as a threat or danger. These stimuli can be anything that causes your body to react in such a way, from something that is actually dangerous such as an aggressive dog about to attack to something that does not seem dangerous at all, but still causes you stress, such as a looming job project or the death of someone close to you.

In such cases of job projects or deaths, you may wonder why they cause stress if stress is a result of perceived threats or dangers. Take a moment to consider those two things. Your body produces a fight or flight response when you stress. Now, do you want to do the job project or would you rather not do it at all? Do you really want to deal with the death of a loved one? Does death scare you? A danger does not always have to be a physical one. Mental scares are most prominent this day and age, so you can have the exact same physical response when something unpleasant comes your way.

Stress puts strain on your body, whereas a worry may just be a passing concern or unhappy thought. Constant worry can lead to stress, and stress can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is slightly different from stress as it is a more serious form; more constant and possibly crippling in its effects, such as anxiety attacks.

Now you know a good stress defintion, which can be half the battle in keeping it away.