Define stress and its types.
Meaning of Stress : Stress consists of bodily changes produced by physiological or psychological conditions that tend to upset the homeostatic balance. In medical language ‘stress’ is defined as a perturbation of the body’s homeostasis. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the stress is defined as “a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy.” Stress can also be defined as “the body’s physiological response to demands placed on it.” The demands or stress- producing agents are referred to as stressors. In simple words, stress is a condition or circumstance (not always adverse), which can disturb the normal physical and mental health of a person.
Types of Stress
Most of the stress situations we face in everyday life are very minor and easy to cope with. For example, when we feel hungry, we may stop what we are doing and go to take a meal. We can meet such demands very easily. That is why we are not disturbed physiologically or psychologically. Generally, such type of stress is caused by physical stressors, such as diet, exercise, illness, noise and extremes of temperature etc.
On the other hand, there are many stressors that affect our lives today which are cognitive in nature. These are called cognitive stressors. The stress caused by such stressors is difficult to cope with, such as divorce, losses, social disapproval severe guilt feelings, etc.