What is Stress?

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Oct 30, 2003

Stress is experienced from the moment you're born. Let's look at your first day in the world. For nine months you're in a safe place where there are no bullies to deal with, no tests to take, no fighting with brothers or sisters, and no worrying about whether so-and-so likes you or not. All you have to worry about is getting enough to eat and growing.

When you're born, however, you are literally pushed from your safe place into a strange world filled with unfamiliar sights, sounds, and people. You are then slapped till you cry, (you don't really understand why), then passed from stranger to stranger. Later you are tightly wrapped in a blanket so you can't move and placed in a nursery with a lot of other babies just as frustrated and stressed as you. The only way you have to express your stress is to cry, which you do a good deal of for the next several months.

Stress is any disturbance in your life that causes you to be in a state of mental, emotional, or physical strain. However, not all stress is bad. Eustress is considered a good stress. It leads you to push yourself to accomplish goals and makes your life more fulfilling. An example of eustress is not wanting to study for a test, but knowing it will help you get a better grade. It may be a pain in the short-term to do it, but when you take the test and know the answers, you feel much better about having done it. Distress, on the other hand, is considered a bad stress. This is where you feel like you're suffering with a problem and in doing so, distress can make you feel like you have a weight on your head. You feel tired and irritable and like you can't find a way out. If you suffer enough distress, the very foundation of your personality begins to be chipped away.

What someone considers stressful changes as they grow. For a baby, stress may be feeling hungry or needing your diaper changed. When you get a little older, stress can be wanting a toy in the store and not getting it, forgetting your lunch box at home or that you didn't get a gold star on your assignement. Stress in high school can include struggling with questions such as: What do I want to do with the rest of my life?

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