What is Stress? Well, I think everyone has an opinion of what stress is. Since this is blog aimed at talking about stress reduction, and reducing anxiety and depression, it seems appropriate that we take a moment to talk about how we define stress.

While stress can talk about how much stress is placed on a bridge by the passing of cars or trucks, or the point where a material begins to deform, Wikipedia defines stress as "a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined (taken from Wikipedia)."

So stress actually is a term describing what happens to our bodies when we do not adapt to stressful situations. Notice too that the term includes both physical and emotional threats. While there are probably not too many physical threats in our daily environment, when clients enter my office, they are usually describing emotional pressures they feel from home, work or family.

The effect on our bodies from physical or emotional stressors is probably about the same. One of the differences, though, is that physical threats are real while emotional threats are imagined.

Sure, your boss could threaten your job (emotional stressor) but, even though it may seem impossible, you really can find different work, even in a terrible economy. Remember, in the big depression, 75% of the people were working; and, at present, only about four percent of well educated or well trained trades people are out of work. So, you often have options which you are overlooking.

The real question is why don't more people move out of stressful situation and move to working or living arrangements that are better?

The answer appears to be a part of being human. In Nudge, the authors (Thaler and Sunstein) point out that all people, even well educated ones, don't like to change, even if it would mean a better or longer life. That's clearly seen in the increasing rates of obesity in the US, Europe, Russia, Mexico, China and India. Despite being told that being fat will have all sorts of negative effects, people keep on eating too much because not eating so much might lead them to ...using a smaller plate or sharing a meal! Tough stuff.

However, this all boils down to how we see ourselves and how we handle the pressures of stress. Underlying this is our view of ourselves and what we have to do to change it.
Hi, my name is Dan Watson and my daily job is that of a psychologist in Palm Desert, CA. My goal is to provide the reader with insights and techniques to assist them in reducing anxieties and depressions, and in improving sleep. Read more at www.stresscontrolnow.com.