INTRODUCTION

Stress may be referred to as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that
people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being.
The word stress means different things to different people. Some people define stress as events
or situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure, or negative motions such as anxiety and
anger. Others view stress as the response to these situations. This response includes
physiological changes—such as increased heart rate and muscle tension—as well as emotional
and behavioral changes. However, most psychologists regard stress as a process involving a
person‘s interpretation and response to a threatening event. Stress is a common experience. We
may feel stress when we are very busy, have important deadlines to meet, or have too little time
to finish all of our tasks. Often people experience stress because of problems at work or in social
relationships, such as a poor evaluation by a supervisor or an argument with a friend. Some
people may be particularly vulnerable to stress in situations involving the threat of failure or
personal humiliation. Others have extreme fears of objects or things associated with physical
threats—such as snakes, illness, storms, or flying in an airplane—and become stressed when they
encounter or think about these perceived threats. Major life events, such as the death of a loved
one, can cause severe stress. Stress can have both positive and negative effects. Stress is a
normal, adaptive reaction to threat. It signals danger and prepares us to take defensive action.
Fear of things that pose realistic threats motivates us to deal with them or avoid them. Stress also
motivates us to achieve and fuels creativity. Although stress may hinder performance on difficult
tasks, moderate stress seems to improve motivation and performance on less complex tasks. In
personal relationships, stress often leads to less cooperation and more aggression. If not managed
appropriately, stress can lead to serious problems. Exposure to chronic stress can contribute to
both physical illnesses, such as heart disease, and mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders. The
field of health psychology focuses in part on how stress affects bodily functioning and on how
people can use stress management techniques to prevent or minimize disease.

WHAT IS STRESS?
Whilst there is little disagreement about the prevalence of stress there is considerable debate
about what the word (stress) actually refers to. In ordinary conversation we seem to be willing to
apply the word to both cause and effect. In other words, the common sense view of stress is that
it is a combination of external stressors and our response in the early and highly influential
research of Selye (1936). Stress is as the result of an interaction between an individual‘s
emotional, intellectual, social, and physical resources and the demands on him or her.

Marshall & Cooper (1981) argue that ‗stress‘ is a different phenomenon form ‗pressure‘. Stress
is something more than mere pressure. It carries strong overtones of the breakdown of normal
human performance. In an earlier work, Cooper & Marshall, (1978), the same two authors
concluded that ‗stress is essentially individually defined and must be understood with reference
to characteristics of both the individual and his environment, as it is the outcome of the two‘

The following are the various definitions of the term stress:

A. Stress is the excitement, feeling of anxiety, and/or physical tension that occurs when the
demands placed on an individual are thought to exceed his ability to cope. This most common
view of stress is often called distress or negative stress. The physical or psychological demands
from the environment that cause this condition are called stressors. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2004)

B. Holmes & Rahe,(1967) defined stress as a stimulus event that presents unusual demands.

C. It is defined by Ganster and Murphy (2000) as a form of ‗strain‘ provoked in response to

situational demands labeled ‗stressors‘ which occur when jobs are simultaneously high in
demands and low in control.

D. Is an adaptive response, mediated by individual differences and/or psychological processes,

that is, a consequence of any external (environment) action, situation, or event that places
excessive psychological and/or physical demands on a person.
(Weihrich and Koontz, 1993)

E. Stress is the mental or physical condition that results from a perceived threat of danger
(physical or emotional) and the pressure to remove it. (Leslie & Lloyd, 1977)

F. Selye (1976) define stress as the bodily response we make to the troublesome event.

G. Stress is any circumstances or transactions with the environment that threaten or are perceived
to threaten our well-being and thereby tax our adaptive capacities.
(Weiten, 1986)

H. An adaptive response, moderated by individual differences, that is a consequence of any

action, situation, or event and that places special demands on a person.
(Ivancevich, Konopaske and Matteson, 1987)

I. Stress (psychology), an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people
experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being.
(Auerbach et al, 2007 / Encarta 2008)

J. In physics, stress refers to the external force applied to an object – for example, a bridge
girder. The response is ―strain‖, which is the impact the force has on the girder.

K. Stress is defined as a nonspecific response of the body to a stimulus or event (stressor).

Under a general model of the stress response, when an individual experiences a stressor, the
stressor will lead to a physiological response, one that can be measured by several indicators,
such as elevated heart rate. In related literature, the term ―stress‖ is used to refer to this
physiological response. Stressors vary in form and can include extreme temperature or lighting,
time pressure, lack of sleep, and exposure to threat or danger, among others. All stressors,
however, tend to produce similar physiological responses within the body.
(Selye, 1956)

Transactional model of stress championed by Richard Lazarus and his colleagues (Holroyd &
Lazarus, 1982; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) - A theory that proposes that the experience of stress
depends on one‘s subjective appraisal of events. Thus, stress is neither a stimulus nor a response
but a stimulus-response transaction.

Lazarus emphasizes that the experience of stress is highly personal & subjective, depending on
how people appraise the events they encounter.

From the above definitions of the term stress, stress means different things to different people.
From a layperson‘s perspective, stress can be described as feeling tense, anxious, or worried. The
term stress itself has been defined in literally hundreds of ways in the literature. Virtually all of
the definitions can be placed into one of the two categories, however; stress can be defined as
either a stimulus or a response.

A stimulus definition treats stress as some characteristic or event that may result in a disruptive
consequence. In a response definition, stress is seen partially to some stimulus, called a stressor.
A stressor is a potentially harmful or threatening external event or situation. In a response
definition, stress is the consequence of the interaction between an environmental stimulus (a
stressor) and the individual‘s response. That is, stress is the result of a unique interaction
between stimulus conditions in the environment and the individual‘s predisposition to respond in
a particular way.

In a nutshell it is useful to view stress as the response a person makes and to identify stimulus
conditions (actions, situations, events) as stressors. Stress is the consequence of the interaction
between and environmental stimulus (stressor) and the individual‘s response.

General Principles of Stress by Richard Lazarus

I. Stress may be either physical or psychological: Examples of physical stress include infections,
exposure to excessive heat or cold failure to get adequate sleep, and pain. Examples of
psychological stress include arguing with your spouse, starting a new job, staring at a stack of
bills you are unable to pay, and being lonely.

II. Physical and psychological stress may overlap and interact: although it is convenient to
distinguish between physical and psychological stress, you should not think of these two types of
stress as being altogether independent. They may overlap in that a single event, such as being
wounded in combat, can produce both physical and psychological stress. Furthermore, there is
evidence (Friedman, Ader & Glasgow, 1965) that physical and psychological stressors may
function interactively.

III. The appraisal of stress is not necessarily objective: when under threat, people respond
emotionally and seem particularly prone to deviate from objective and rational modes of thought
(Folkman, Schaefer & Lazarus, 1979).

IV. Stress may be self-imposed: we tend to think of stress as something imposed on us from
without by others and their demands. Surprisingly often, however, it would seem appropriate to
characterize stress as self-imposed. For example, you might put pressure on yourself to get good
grades or to climb the corporate ladder rapidly. These overly high expectations often lead to
perceptions of failure and feelings of disappointment.
V. Our response to stress is complex and multidimensional: stress affects us at several levels. It
tends to produce changes in our emotions, our physiology, and our behavior.

VI. The effects of stress may be cumulative or additive: it had long been suspected that stress has
cumulative effects along the lines of the fabled ―straw that broke the camel‘s back‖. Recent
evidence (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer & Lazarus, 1981) that little everyday―hassles can add up to
damage one‘s health appears to confirm that suspicion. For example, you might be experiencing
stress of moderate intensity at home, at school and at work. Coping with each source of stress
singly, you might be able to handle things without great difficulty. But collectively, the stress in
these three areas of your life might be overwhelming. Moreover, it appears that the stressful
events do not have to take place at the same time in order to have additive effects. The evidence
suggests that a series of stressful events, following closely on one another, may also have
cumulative effects.

SOURCES OF STRESS ( Encarta 2008)

The circumstances that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors vary in severity and duration.
For example, the responsibility of caring for a sick parent may be an ongoing source of major
stress, whereas getting stuck in a traffic jam may cause mild, short-term stress. Some events,
such as the death of a loved one, are stressful for everyone. But in other situations, individuals
may respond differently to the same event—what is a stressor for one person may not be stressful
for another. For example, a student who is unprepared for a chemistry test and anticipates a bad
grade may feel stress, whereas a classmate who studies in advance may feel confident of a good
grade. For an event or situation to be a stressor for a particular individual, the person must
appraise the situation as threatening and lack the coping resources to deal with it effectively.

Stressors can be classified into three general categories: catastrophic events, major life changes,
and daily hassles. In addition, simply thinking about unpleasant past events or anticipating
unpleasant future events can cause stress for many people.

a) Catastrophes
A catastrophe is a sudden, often life-threatening calamity or disaster that pushes people to the
outer limits of their coping capability. Catastrophes include natural disasters—such as
earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, floods, and hurricanes—as well as wars, torture, automobile
accidents, violent physical attacks, and sexual assaults. Catastrophes often continue to affect
their victims‘mental health long after the event has ended. For example, in 1972 a dam burst and
flooded the West Virginia mining town of Buffalo Creek, destroying the town. Two years after
the disaster, most of the adult survivors continued to show emotional disturbances. Similarly,
most of the survivors of concentration camps in World
War II (1939-1945) continued to experience nightmares and other symptoms of severe emotional
problems long after their release from the camps.

b) Major Life Changes

The most stressful events for adults involve major life changes, such as death of a spouse
or family member, divorce, imprisonment, losing one‘s job, and major personal disability or
illness. For adolescents, the most stressful events are the death of a parent or a close family
member, divorce of their parents, imprisonment of their mother or father, and major personal
disability or illness. Sometimes, apparently positive events can have stressful components. For
example, a woman who gets a job promotion may receive a higher salary and greater prestige,
but she may also feel stress from supervising coworkers who were once peers. Getting married is
usually considered a positive experience, but planning the wedding, deciding whom to invite,
and dealing with family members may cause couples to feel stressed.

c) Daily Hassles
Much of the stress in our lives results from having to deal with daily hassles pertaining to same
hassles every day. Examples of daily hassles include living in a noisy neighborhood, commuting
to work in heavy traffic, disliking one‘s fellow workers, worrying about owing money, waiting
in a long line, and misplacing or losing things. When taken individually, these hassles may feel
like only minor irritants, but cumulatively, over time, they can cause significant stress. The
amount of exposure people have to daily hassles is strongly related to their daily mood.
Generally, the greater their exposure is to hassles, the worse is their mood. Studies have found
that one‘s exposure to daily hassles is actually more predictive of illness than is exposure to
major life events.

EFFECTS OF STRESS

Negative effects

A. Impairment of cognitive functioning: a moderately common effect of stress is impairment of

one‘s mental functioning. In some people, stress may lead to a narrowed form of attention,
reduced flexibility in thinking, poor concentration and less effective memory storage. Such
effects are far from inevitable. (Mandler, 1979)

B. Shock and disorientation: severe stress can leave people dazed and confused.
(Horowitz, 1979) In these states, people tend to feel emotionally numb and they respond in a flat,
apathetic fashion to events around them. They often stare off into space and have difficulty
maintaining a coherent train of thought. Their behavior frequently has an automatic, rigid,
stereotyped quality.

C. Burnout: burnout is a buzzword for the eighties. This is a stress-related syndrome wherein
one‘s behavior comes to be dominated by feelings of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.
The physical exhaustion includes chronic fatigue, weakness, and low energy. The emotional
exhaustion refers to feeling hopeless, helpless, trapped, and emotionally drained. The mental
exhaustion is manifested in highly negative attitudes toward oneself, one‘s work, and life in
general.

D. Disruption of social relations: there is one evidence that stress can lead to
deterioration in one‘s normal social relations. The effect of stress on interpersonal behavior has
not attracted much attention. However, researchers working with Vietnam veterans suffering
from the delayed stress response syndrome (also called ―posttraumatic stress disorder) observed
disruptions in social functioning with some regularities. These disruptions include feeling of
alienation, difficulties in relating to spouses and friends, and impairments in the capacity to love
and trust others. (Blank, 1982; Shatan, 1978)

E. Psychological Problems and Disorders: on the basis of clinical impressions, psychologists

have long believed that stress might be a key factor in the causation of many kinds of
psychological problems and mental illness. In the domain of common psychological problems, it
is clear that stress may contribute to poor academic performance, insomnia, sexual difficulties,
drug abuse, excessive anxiety, nervousness, dejection, and depression. Above and beyond these
―everyday‖ problems we have evidence that stress frequently plays a role in the onset of full-
fledged psychological disorders.

F. Physical problems and illness: the existence of a connection between stress and certain kinds
of physical illness has long been recognized. Examples of illnesses that have long been viewed
as stress-related are asthma, hypertension, migraine headache, and ulcers.

Positive effects
The beneficial effects of stress are more difficult to pinpoint than the harmful effects because
they tend to be more subtle. First, we would probably experience a suffocating level of boredom
if we lived a stress-free existence. Life would be very dull indeed if it were altogether devoid of
challenge. There is evidence (Suedfeld, 1979) that an intermediate level of stimulation and
challenge tends to be optimal for most people. Although most of us think of stress in terms of
stimulus overload, it is clear that underload can be extremely unpleasant as well. Second, stress
may frequently promote personal growth. Basically, personal growth refers to movement toward
greater psychological health. Stress must sometimes force us to develop new skills, learn new
insights, and acquire new strengths. In other words, the adaptation process initiated by stress may
often lead to personal changes for the better. Confronting and conquering a stressful challenge
may lead to improvement in a specific coping abilities and to favorable alternative in one‘s self-
concept. Third, today‘s stress can ―inoculate‖ us so that we are less affected by tomorrow‘s
stress. If stressful experience is moderate in intensity and does not overwhelm us, it may increase
our subsequent stress tolerance. Thus, a fellow who has previously endured business‘s setbacks
may be much better prepared than most people to deal with the fact that the bank is about to
foreclose on his home. In light of the negative effects that stress can have, improved stress
tolerance is a desirable outcome.

COPING WITH STRESS

There are two types of coping: problem focused and emotion focused.
Problem-focused coping: this refers to the actions taken by an individual to cope with a stressful
person, situation, or event. For example, workers facing disrespectful manager may deal with his
harassing style by being absent from work. This absenteeism would enable the workers to be
removed, some of the time, from the disrespectful manager.

Emotion-focused coping: this refers to the actions taken by a person to alleviate stressful feelings
and emotions. The actions center on avoidance or escape from a person, problem, or event. For
instance, employees that travel frequently as part of the job may alleviate their stressful feelings
and emotions by exercising regularly or by reading light, non-work-oriented fiction or poetry. If
these coping activities are successful, the frequent traveler‘s feelings and emotions are kept in
check.