Causes of Stress

Leaving aside the lengthy definitions of the human body's stress response and how it developed over the ages, stress is exactly what its dictionary meaning states "a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy". While much has been written about the affects that stress, chronic stress and acute stress has on the human body and mind, what is also important to understand are the various aspects that cause stress.

Listing the various causes of stress may actually become an endless and futile exercise. This is mainly because of the fact that there is no comprehensive list of events, circumstances, situations or disturbances that exists. The events that cause stress in some people may not cause stress in another. When you study the causes of stress closely, you may actually be surprised at some of the specific situations that can cause stress to others.

There can be countless causes of stress as each individual responds differently to situations. A situation may be extremely stressful to one, moderately stressful to another and still mean nothing to yet another. There are many people who take death as part of normal cycle of life and death and do not feel stressed even at the death of a loved one. At the same time, for some, every thing and anything, from a simple delay in flight to bringing up a teenager, can cause stress.

Whether you consider a situation as a stressful one and allow yourself to get stressed is a choice that we all have. A sudden loss of money, if handled with a relaxed attitude and focused will and a readiness to face life's hardships does not bring feelings of anger and frustration. Marital conflicts may indeed make life hell for you if you are prone to respond with accusations and frustration. A potential stressor ceases to remain a cause of stress if the situation is accepted as part of life's challenges that need to be faced.

Stress is, in fact, your reaction to what life hands out to you. A lot of stress can be avoided or created by the way we react to specific events or information. Indirectly, it means that you and you alone are responsible for the amount of stress that you take or do not take since all stress is created by what you perceive rather than what actually transpires. It is therefore, logical to state that stress can be avoided by simple changing perception.

Despite the individual nature of the various causes of stress, there are some broad areas that present themselves as aspects that have a higher potential to cause stress. Job security, financial issues, tension in relationships, upbringing of children and teens, the health of the elderly at home and the like are the most common potential causes of stress.

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