STRESS

What exactly is stress?

In everyday language, the word stress is used in three different ways. Stress is seen as an external stimulus, as "stressor": source of stress. Secondly, stress is also seen as the response to a source of stress. One might say that if the car won't start when you have to leave now that that could give a lot of stress. Stress is, thirdly, the combination of source and response. This third way is really about the whole process of stress, from source to response, in combination with another very important factor: the relationship between a person and his environment.

 

In daily life we all have to deal with circumstances where the solution is not obvious. Sometimes you have to put effort in to deal with a problem, for example: you have a spontaneous pain in the knee, the car will not start, you can not find your keys, you name it. You will have to adapt in such a situation, and sometimes have to rely on your sources.

Stress exists only when someone can not meet the demands of the environment with his resources. These requirements can be anything one sees in a situation, possibly another person does not; stress therefor can be in the eye of the beholder.

Not enough money to pay your bills. Faced with a large man who wants your money. Your baby cries continuously despite everything you do. The computer breaks down while you are working on important material.

Stress is your reaction to a situation where it appears that you are unable to meet the demands of the situation, because the requirements are too large, or because your resources are not sufficient.

Moreover, it is also true that too few demands from the environment can cause stress. Someone who is bored all day at work experiences stress as well.

Remember that the difference between the demands made and the resources you have, can be really present but are also subjective. If you are naturally inclined to quickly say something that "you can not do it", that you're not creative, that you do not dare to ask help from friends, then the source is there, but you think that it is not there. Maybe your friends want to help, but you do just do not know (or do not want to know!). So often, it's how you look at things.

Anyone can influence the experienced degree of stress to a greater or lesser extent. Everyone suffers from the same source of stress in varying degrees. If an accident would occur in your street, everyone will react differently and is in varying degrees affected. Some more than others.

When you evaluate a source of stress you use a process that is defined by Lazarus as the theory of cognitive assessment (cognitive appraisal theory).

This theory consists of two parts. First you assess whether you really are in danger, and secondly, you look at whether you have sufficient resources to meet the requirements.

Imagine one day you wake up with pain in your left arm. Your first question will be: "What is it?". This is the first part of the assessment, in which you evaluate if it is nothing, or danger is present. Does is frighten you, or does it not.  

 

If you are scared because you assessed it as dangerous, in the second part of the cognitive assessment you look at your sources; are they sufficient to cope with the problem or master it? Maybe go to the doctor (that's a resource you have!), maybe you find what you search on the internet. You're going to find a solution for the source of stress.

In this second assessment the outcome varies between "I can not" to "I can, I can solve it". You can imagine that the first result indicates stress, and the second probably not. Certainly much less.

Stress is perceived difference between the demands of the environment on the one hand, and the sources you have to meet those demands on the other side. That means you have stress when you can not adapt to a given situation.