A definition of stress

We have all felt and experienced the effects of stress, but a definition of stress is more elusive. Having a clear definition and how it affects your wellbeing and health, can provide you with the skills to become more effective.

In the last 100 years of stress-related research there have been many competing theories surrounding stress. In this section, a current view of stress will be given.

A definition of stress

A single stress definition is a difficult topic because stress challenges a person’s capacity to adapt to inner and outer demands, and each person feels and interprets stress differently.

One definition, which is found in other sciences, is that stress is an external pressure applied onto an object. However, if we apply too much force, then that object will distort and eventually break.

An early contributor to stress was provided by Walter Cannon’s (1932) description of the fight-or flight response. When confronted with danger you can either flee from the danger, or stay and fight.

The fight-or-flight response is an endocrine and sympathetic nervous system activation, which when constantly activated can lead you to become fatigued and result in poorer health as the body diverts resources towards alertness and readiness.

Hans Selye, a pioneer in the study of stress discovered that a number of stressful events, whether it be a broken finger, or a disease, losing one’s job, or going through a divorce, led the body to produce a similar physiological response, which he termed the general adaptation syndrome, which consisted of three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

In the alarm stage, the body releases adrenalin and other hormones as well as activating the fight-or-flight response. So when you have to give a speech in front of colleagues or walk into an exam, you may notice characteristics of the alarm phases, which are increased blood pressure, heart rate, sweaty palms or quick breathing.

The alarm stage cannot last indefinitely and the body goes into the resistance stage. This is where the parasympathetic nervous system normalizes the heart rate and breathing. However, blood sugars (for energy) and stress-related hormones (adrenalin and cortisol to name a few) will continue to circulate. Essentially your body has remained on red alert, adapting to the higher levels of stress, and ready to act when needed.

Essentially, remaining on red alert takes its toll on the body, and makes the body susceptible to illness. For example, overworked university student in the middle of exams, or workers who are doing long hours, are in the middle of the resistance stage.

If the resistance stage continues long enough, the body will wear down and enter the third stage of exhaustion. Here the body’s defenses break down and there is greater chance of serious illness and disease.

A current view of stress

The most common view of stress is that it is seen as a transaction between the individual and the environment. In other sciences, stress is thought of as an external pressure applied to an object. However, transactional model expands upon this, in which the stress reaction is not just the external pressure on the object but the ability of the object to resist and absorb the pressure.

So it is with people, the amount of stress people experience is a joint function of their internal resources and the external pressure on them.

Stress entails the individual’s perception of the demands of the environment compared to their perception of the resources available. If the person appraises that the demands of the environment exceed the resources available to them, then stress will ensue.

Acknowledging that stress has a biological and psycho-biological response, it is this definition of stress that is adopted throughout this site.