What Is Stress?

Just as we all experience anxiety, we all also experience stress. It is unavoidable. So what exactly is stress, and how is it different from anxiety? A much broader term than “anxiety, ” stress refers to the response your body has when you are facing circumstances that force you to act, change, or adjust to your environment. As you may remember from chapter 1, anxiety and fear serve very important functions. They are the body’s way of telling us that we may be in a dangerous or threatening situation. Stress also serves a very important function. Basically, the experience of stress is an indication that your body’s resources are being taxed or used up in some way.

You can think about it this way: Imagine your body as a giant computer. Now, computers are getting faster and faster every day, but in the end, even the largest and most complex computer has only a limited amount of processing power. So, if you run one small program on the computer, it will use up a little of your computer’s processing capability. This means that the computer will have a little less processing power for other programs; however, with just one small program running, the computer’s performance probably won’t be affected that much. Now, let’s imagine that you start running program after program on your computer. At some point, you will notice a decline in your computer’s performance. Basically, the more programs you run on your computer, the slower the computer will be in managing each program. And, in extreme cases, if there are many programs running all at once for a long time, the computer could get so taxed that it crashes.

Our bodies work the same way. We have a limited amount of resources available to deal with the situations we encounter. Basically, we have only so much mental or physical energy available at any given time. The more situations or activities we encounter that use up these resources, the more stressed out, tense, or depleted we will feel and the less effective we will be in coping with these situations. In addition, the longer we stay in these situations or engage in these activities, the more our resources will continue to be depleted. As a result, we may have greater difficulties managing our emotions or feel more reactive, or our emotions may seem more out of control. Our concentration and attention may also suffer. We may have problems sleeping, and we may even increase our chances of becoming physically ill.

Now, one thing that people don’t always realize is that stress can come from both pleasant and unpleasant situations. When many people think about stress, they think only about unpleasant or negative situations, ones that they don’t like and would rather not have to experience, like losing a job, having money problems, or dealing with an illness, really unpleasant situations. In fact, even the word “stressful” has come to mean negative or unpleasant. However, pleasant events, situations that bring about positive emotions, can also lead to stress. For example, planning a wedding, having a baby, and getting a promotion can all be stressful. These situations may have benefits and you may be glad they happened, but they can also be a source of stress.

It is important to be aware of the types of events that bring on stress for you. The more aware you are of these situations, the better prepared you can be to cope with the stress when it arises. In exercise 5.1, we ask you to identify positive and negative current sources of stress for you.

Exercise 5.1 Identify Sources of Stress in Your Life

Close your eyes and take a few minutes to review the past several months of your life. Try to think back to a time when you felt very stressed out. What was going on at that time? Was it a positive event (for example, starting a new relationship) or a negative one (for instance, losing your job)? Write down all the positive and negative sources of stress that you have experienced recently. It may also be helpful to write down future sources of stress.

Now, before we talk about what you can do with stress, let’s talk briefly about how stress applies to anxiety disorders.