Definition of stress helps you take control of your stress

Manage your stress through better understanding.

Commonly used definition of stress

Stress is an individual's mental, behavioural and physiological response to when we feel/ fear we cannot cope with the pressure perceived.

Another definition of stress by The UK Health & Safety Executive;

'Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them'.

These very useful stress definitions make it clear that stress is;

• a behavioural and physiological response
• a personal/ individual response
• not a preferred response
• defined as a 'bad thing'
• not the pressure you are exposed to

Stress is something you do, but do not have done to you!

• if you enjoy, accept and cope with pressure applied to you you will not suffer stress
• if you see the pressure as a challenge rather than a threat you will not experience stress
• however, if you cannot cope you will suffer stress and more so as pressure increases

Pressures are a part of life and up to a point motivate you. It comes down to your perception of the pressure, your ability to cope, the intensity and duration of the pressure.

When the pressure exceeds your perceived ability to cope then it becomes a stressor and you will experience stress.

Stress is a physiological response to excessive pressure experienced.

The physiological stress response, or 'fight or flight response', evolved to help mammals, including humans, escape danger. This is known as acute stress

An incredibly complex response, the stress response affects all of your bodily systems tuning you to be able to perform at an extraordinary level for short periods of time.

Stress is thought to;

• affect some 20% of the population
• explain 85% of illnesses
• cause 70% of visits to the doctor
• (UK HSE data)

Whilst the stress response was often useful in early human history to enable people to escape predators or when fighting, it was short-lived. When people escape danger they relax again.

The stress response has less use in modern human life, except where responding in an emergency, however, it is still triggered and can be maintained for hours/ days/ weeks + by exposure to, or fear of, excessive pressure (perceived or real).

This brings chronic stress which is very damaging to your health and well-being bringing a huge series of symptoms, effects and illnesses due to the wide impact of the stress response on your body.

Cardiologists, studying their patients, realised there were two main groups of people, those that suffer heart disease are typically those that suffer most stress - they also share a common series of behavioural traits making up what they defined as 'Type A' personalities.

If you recognise many of these traits in yourself then stress management is a likely need for you;

• rushed/ impatient
• overly competitive
• very ambitious
• like to be in control
• easily irritated
• often angry

Those that are less likely to suffer heart disease experience less stress and are more able to cope with the pressures of life with their more laid back 'Type B' personality.

So personality type can be a definition of stress response too.

To return from definition of stress to personal stress management