Stress and Health: New Research

Stress is a physical response to an undesirable situation. Mild stress can result from missing the bus, standing in a long line at the store or getting a parking ticket. Stress can also be severe. Divorce, family problems, an assault, or the death of a loved one, for example, can be devastating. One of the most common sources of both mild and severe stress is work. Stress can be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic). Acute stress is a reaction to an immediate threat -- either real or perceived. Chronic stress involves situations that aren't short-lived, such as relationship problems, workplace pressures, and financial or health worries. Stress is an unavoidable consequence of life. As Hans Selye (who coined the term as it is currently used) noted, "Without stress, there would be no life". However, just as distress can cause disease, it seems plausible that there are good stresses that promote wellness. Stress is not always necessarily harmful. Winning a race or an election can be just as stressful as losing, or more so, but may trigger very different biological responses. Increased stress results in increased productivity up to a point. This new book deals with the dazzling complexity of this good-bad phenomenon and presents up-to-date research from throughout the world.