What is all about Stress ?

Stress is a word that is bandied around a lot these days , usually in the negative sense . Most people view it as something that must be avoided . Relatives , friends and work colleagues may all say that they are under stress . But what is stress ? How does it affect us ? How do we recognize it ?

When a person believes demands made of them exceed their ability to cope they will experience stress .

The technical name for these demands is ” stressors ” and the resulting wear and tear on the body is the stress .

We may think of stress as a relatively new phenomenon ; in fact , it has been with us for millions of years . Many years ago when men and women lived in caves life-threatening situation occured on a daily basis . Cave dwellers hunting for food were regularly exposed to physical dangers from other predators or the environment in which they lived .

Faced with a threat the body reacts immediately – there is a rush of adrenaline , heightened muscle tension , faster heart rate and raised blood pressure . Blood pumps to the muscles and brain causing the body to become alert and as strong as possible for , in order to survive , a hunter would have to respond either by fighting the threat or running away from it . This is called the ” flight and fight response ” and is activated whenever a person is faced with an emergency . Physiologist Walter B Cannon first described it over 100 years ago .

The flight or fight response is still experienced by people today and is , of course , appropriate whenever we are faced with a real emergency . However , unlike our ancestors , we are rarely faced with such life-threatening situations . Screaming children , nagging bosses and work deadlines are very unpleasant but hardly life-threatening . The problem is that nature does not know this and will prepare the same fight or flight response . This leave the body in a high state of arousal which it is a unable to utilise .

So if everyday pressures mount up and a person is in this state for long periods of time , their body soon suffers and the experience becomes distress .