Causes of Stress

Listing the causes of stress is tricky. There can be innumerable stress factors since different individuals react differently to the same stress conditions. Extreme stress situations for an individual may prove to be mild for another, for yet another person the situations might not qualify as stress symptoms at all. Stress is often termed as a twentieth century syndrome, born out of man`s race towards modern progress and its ensuing complexities. For that matter, causes such as a simple flight delay to managing a teenage child at home can put you under stress.

A stress condition can be real or perceived. Yet, our brain reacts the same way to both causes of stress by releasing stress hormones equal to the degree of stress felt. The brain doesn`t differentiate between real and imagined stress. It could happen while watching a horror movie or when one is apprehensive of some imminent danger.

It is said that life acts and you react. Our attitude is our reaction to what life hands out to us. A significant amount of stress symptoms can be avoided or aroused by the way we relate to stressors. Stress is created by what we think rather than by what has actually happened. For instance, handling adopted children, adolescents, academic failures, retirements, tax audits or sudden loss of money needs a relaxed attitude, focused will and preparedness to face the quirks of life positively. Otherwise one tends to feel stressed and reacts in anger and frustration. With a better control of attention one can feel that the world is a more congenial place to live in.

Again, in case of a marital conflict, instead of adopting an accusing and frustrating attitude such as—"You made my life hell" or "You are not meeting my emotional needs," the American clinical psychotherapist Willard F. Harley suggests that accepting—" Yes, we have a problem", helps clear the clouds. Failure in adopting a realistic attitude to events creates symptoms of depression and aggravates stress situations.

"Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. I am convinced that life is 10 per cent what happens to me and 90 per cent how I react to it. And so it is with you…" says Charles Swindoll, author and public speaker.

A right attitude can make a resilient person out of us in the face of stressful situations.