Stress definition

What is stress?
The body has an inbuilt physical response to stressful situations. Faced with pressure, challenge or danger, we need to react quickly, and our bodies release hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to help us do this. These hormones are part of the "fight or flight" response and affect the metabolic rate, heart rate and blood pressure, resulting in a heightened - or stressed - state that prepares the body for optimum performance in dealing with a stressful situation.
Very often, modern stresses do not call for either fight or flight. Nevertheless, the same stressing hormones are released as part of the reaction and this natural reaction to challenge or danger, instead of helping, can damage health and reduce the ability to cope.

What causes stress?
Many things can lead to stress:

• pressure to perform at work, at school or in sports
• threats of physical violence
• money worries
• arguments
• family conflicts
• divorce
• bereavement
• unemployment
• moving house
• alcohol or drug abuse.
  
  Sometimes, there is no particular reason for developing stress, or it arises out of a series of minor irritations.