essay about coping stress

How to Cope With Stress: 10+ Strategies and Mechanisms

If so, you might be stressed.

Stress is an inevitable part of life, affecting individuals in different ways. Some people thrive under stress, whereas others struggle. Our thresholds for how much stress we can endure differ from one person to the next.

Learning how to cope with stress is essential to ensuring that individuals maintain their physical and mental health. It is improbable to have a life completely free of stress, so we must learn how to cope.

In this post, we explore how to cope with stress using stress coping techniques. We will start with the psychological theories about stress and, from there, look at several methods, informal and formal, that can be used. Our goal is that readers should have a solid understanding of stress-management techniques that can be easily implemented.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises (PDF) for free . These science-based exercises will equip you and your clients with tools to better manage stress and find a healthier balance in your life.

This Article Contains

How to cope with stress according to psychology, healthy coping strategies and mechanisms: a list, 6+ techniques your clients can try, 5 activities, prompts, and worksheets, stress-management skills for work stress, 3 questionnaires, tests, and inventories, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

There are various psychological theories about coping with stress, and it is essential to understand these theories to manage stress effectively.

4 Theories about coping with stress

One of the most popular and widely accepted theories is the transactional model of stress and coping, developed by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman (1984).

According to this model, stress results from an individual’s assessment of the stressor, its threat, and whether they have the necessary cognitive and behavioral resources to manage the stressor.

Based on this assessment, our coping mechanisms and psychological responses to stress are triggered. The model suggests that coping strategies can be either problem focused or emotion focused.

Problem-focused coping involves actively addressing the stressor, while emotion-focused coping involves managing the emotions associated with the stressor.

The transactional model of stress was expanded upon into the workplace, where it’s known as the job demand–control theory and the job demand–control–support theory (for a review, see Häusser et al., 2010; Goh et al., 2010).

In this theory, two dimensions influence the experience of stress: workload/job demands and the degree of control employees have over work tasks. The combination of high demand and low control increases the likelihood of high stress. Social support within the office has protective properties that moderate the relationship between demand and control.

The protective qualities of social support were recognized in the social support theory, another theory about coping with stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985). In this theory, social support is crucial for managing anxiety, because it helps ease feelings of anxiety and helps develop solutions to stressful environments. Social support is not limited to only immediate family and friends but includes colleagues and health care professionals.

The conservation of resources Theory (COR; Hobfoll, 1989) is another stress coping theory. This theory developed from the starting point that people feel stressed when they do not think they have the necessary resources to combat stress. However, in COR, additional emphasis is placed on the objective resources that are also available. These resources can be tangible (e.g., money, a house) or intangible (e.g., our relationships, self-worth), and individuals experience stress when their resources are threatened, depleted, or unattainable.

This theory is primarily used to explain workplace stress , and some researchers prefer it over the transactional model of stress because it:

• Is more practical and realistic
• Places less responsibility on the individual who experiences the stressor to change their mindset to combat stress
• Has predictive qualities (Hobfoll et al., 2018)

Why is stress management important?

Chronic stress can adversely affect an individual’s wellbeing and lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression (Hammen, 2005).

Therefore, developing good coping strategies has multiple beneficial outcomes (Cohen, 2004), including:

• Reducing the negative impact of stress
• Improving an individual’s overall quality of life by enhancing resilience
• Improving their social support network, allowing them to seek help and support from friends and family during stressful times

Here we provide a concise list of methods that can be used to cope with stress.

• Healthy coping strategies include exercise, relaxation techniques, social support, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies (CBT). Exercise has been shown to have numerous health benefits, including stress reduction, improved mood, and enhanced cognitive function (Sui et al., 2019).
• Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga have also been shown to reduce stress and improve mental health outcomes (Pascoe et al., 2017).
• Social support, such as emotional and practical support from family and friends, can help individuals cope with stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985).
• CBT helps individuals recognize and change negative thought patterns and behaviors, improving mental health outcomes (Hofmann et al., 2012).
• Additional strategies that can improve mental and physical health are getting enough sleep, eating healthily, and avoiding alcohol (or consuming it in moderation). They do not impact stress directly, but they provide the scaffolding so individuals are better positioned to cope with stressful experiences effectively.

Besides these healthy coping strategies, there are several psychological techniques or mechanisms that individuals can use to manage stress.

• One mechanism is problem-focused coping, which involves addressing the stressor directly through problem-solving strategies (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
• Emotion-focused coping involves managing the emotional response to stress through strategies such as positive reappraisal or acceptance (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
• Meaning-focused coping involves finding meaning or purpose in the stressor or the experience of coping with it (Park, 2010).

These psychological techniques can be used alongside healthy coping strategies to manage stress more effectively and maintain overall wellbeing.

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Stress can have a significant impact on both our physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are several psychological techniques and physiological strategies that can alleviate stress.

• One such technique is mindfulness-based stress reduction ( MBSR ). MBSR has decreased perceived stress, anxiety, and depression in individuals who practice it regularly (Carmody & Baer, 2009).
• Similarly, practicing mindfulness meditation has been found to reduce stress levels and improve wellbeing (Hoge et al., 2013). Mindfulness exercises can include simple techniques, such as paying attention to one’s breath or body sensations, or more structured practices, such as body scans or mindful eating .
• Another technique is CBT , which helps individuals identify and challenge negative thoughts and beliefs contributing to stress (Beck, 2011).
• Additionally, relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and deep- breathing exercises have been shown to reduce stress (Hennefeld & Battle, 2019).
• Another technique is visualization, which involves imagining a calm, peaceful place or scenario to reduce stress and promote relaxation (Chafin & Ollendick, 2001).

Move your body to improve your mood

Physical exercise and activity have also reduced stress levels and improved mood and overall wellbeing (Craft & Perna, 2004). Physical exercise reduces stress by releasing endorphins, improving mood, combating depression , and improving physical health (Belvederi Murri et al., 2019).

One simple yet effective activity is to take a walk in nature. A study conducted by Bratman et al. (2015) found that taking a 90-minute walk in a natural environment reduced neural activity in the sub-genual prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with rumination and negative thought patterns.

Although exercise can be completed alone, consider doing it with friends or family or joining an exercise group or club. This way, you get double the benefits: exercise’s mood-boosting effects plus social support’s protective benefits.

Consider formal social support groups

Finally, joining a support group or taking part in group therapy can also help build a sense of community and reduce feelings of isolation.

Cohen et al. (2015) found that individuals who received social support had lower levels of stress hormones in response to stressors than those who did not receive social support.

The ABC sheet

One commonly used activity is the ABC sheet , which is based on CBT and helps patients understand the relationship between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

The name is an initialism:

• Antecedent is the event or stimulus that activates thoughts.
• Belief represents the perception or evaluation of that event.
• Consequence is the emotional or behavioral reaction that follows.

With this sheet, patients learn to identify irrational thoughts, negative beliefs, and consequences.

Once patients learn how to recognize these beliefs and behaviors, they can also learn how to challenge them, resulting in more favorable emotional and behavioral outcomes.

The Core Values Worksheet

Another worksheet is the Core Values Worksheet . With this worksheet, the underlying premise is that if we behave in a way that is incongruent with our core values, then we will experience stress.

Therefore, to reduce stress, we must identify our core values and how to align our behaviors to achieve, preserve, and satisfy them. These behaviors should be incorporated into our daily lives, not just reserved for big, life-changing decisions.

In this worksheet, the client will list their top values and then identify specific actions aligned with them. In addition to helping clients identify primary values, the tool can also help them identify incongruous behaviors that can lead to stress.

Journal prompts

Journaling is a valuable method for reducing stress and identifying patterns of behaviors and thoughts. One of the most significant advantages of journaling is that it is easy to implement and cost effective. All you need is a pencil and a notebook.

Several journal prompts can be used for coping with stress. In fact, we suggest having a look at our gratitude journal article for ideas. However, to whet your appetite, here is a short list to start with:

• Gratitude journaling: Write about three things you are grateful for each day to increase positive emotions.
• Positive self-talk: Jot down some positive affirmations or statements about yourself. This can help combat negative self-talk and increase self-esteem.
• Reflection on achievements: Write about a recent accomplishment to improve your self-worth.

For most adults, work is a source of significant stress. Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence that can lead to substantial physical and mental health issues if not adequately managed.

Developing stress-management techniques for work will improve not only wellbeing, but also productivity. Stress-management strategies for work include time management, physical activity, and mindfulness meditation.

Effective time management is a critical stress-management skill, and it involves organizing and prioritizing tasks to optimize productivity and reduce stress. For example, employees who manage their time efficiently are less likely to experience work stress (Frost & Stimpson, 2020).

To do this, individuals should set realistic goals and establish a schedule that allows them to accomplish their tasks without feeling overwhelmed. Other methods within employees’ control are to avoid procrastination and work without distraction.

For example, do not accept all tasks or requests that come your way, learn to say no or delegate, do the most difficult task first, and use a time-management system. One example of an effective time-management system is the Pomodoro technique , where you work for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break, and then after three cycles, take a longer break.

If employees do not determine their deadlines or tasks, which can be unrealistic or untenable, they should discuss these challenges with their managers or team leaders.

Employers can also significantly reduce work stress by implementing policies promoting a healthy work–life balance and providing stress-management training and support resources.

Physical activity is another critical stress-management skill that can help employees cope with work stress. Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and increase energy levels by reducing stress hormones in the body (i.e., cortisol and adrenaline) and promoting the release of endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers (Salmon, 2018).

Physical activity can also improve cognitive function and help individuals make better decisions, which can reduce work stress (Stults-Kolehmainen & Sinha, 2014).

Other simple physical techniques that may help combat work stress include getting enough sleep, eating healthily and regularly, and avoiding alcohol (or consuming it in moderation).

Mindfulness exercises, such as mindfulness meditation, may also protect against work stress. Mindfulness meditation is a stress-management technique focusing on the present moment without judgment.

This technique helps individuals reduce stress by promoting relaxation, improving cognitive function (Schmidt et al., 2019), and reducing feelings of anxiety even in the workplace (Biegel et al., 2009). Mindfulness meditation can be easily performed in the office or a quiet workplace.

These tools have good psychometric properties (i.e., internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and validity) and are often used in peer-reviewed research.

Perceived Stress Scale

The first questionnaire is the Perceived Stress Scale, a 10-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure an individual’s subjective perception of stress (Cohen et al., 1983).

Initially, it was designed as a generic tool to measure perceived stress in a smoking cessation study. The original version contained 14 items and can be found in the original paper.

It assesses how individuals perceive their life as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded. The Perceived Stress Scale , with scoring instructions, can be accessed via the link.

State–Trait Anxiety Inventory

A second, more general measure of anxiety and stress is the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1983).

Originally, it was developed as two separate tools, each containing 20 questions; however, these are often administered together. This inventory is widely used, easy to administer, and freely available.

It is a 40-item self-report questionnaire that measures two types of anxiety: state and trait anxiety. State anxiety is the temporary emotional state characterized by subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, and nervousness. For example, when presented with an urgent deadline, we might feel acute but short-lived feelings of stress and worry.

In contrast, trait anxiety is a stable personality trait characterized by a tendency to experience anxiety across various situations. For example, some people tend to have higher anxiety in general that is not limited to a specific event.

Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)

For professionals who work in industrial and organizational psychology, we recommend the JCQ (Karasek et al.,1998).

This is a 49-item self-report questionnaire that measures job stress in terms of its psychological demands, decision authority, skill discretion, and social support. Initially, it was designed for research on the relationship between job stress and cardiovascular disease.

A study by Kivimäki et al. (2012) found that high job strain (high psychological demands combined with low decision authority and low social support) was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. The JCQ is in the manuscript’s appendix published by Karasek et al. (1998).

17 Exercises To Reduce Stress & Burnout

Help your clients prevent burnout, handle stressors, and achieve a healthy, sustainable work-life balance with these 17 Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises [PDF].

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

For readers interested in journaling techniques and prompts, we suggest the following articles:

• Journaling for Mindfulness
• Journal prompts to improve self-esteem

For readers who want to read more about mindfulness meditation, especially in the workplace. this post is a good starting point and is quite exhaustive:

• Mindfulness at Work

In addition to our blog posts and free worksheets, we’d also like to share these three tools specifically related to stress and burnout. The Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercise Pack includes the following useful worksheets:

• Energy Management Audit
• The Stress-Related Growth Scale
• Strengthening the Work–Private Life Barrier

The worksheets are easy to administer and appropriate for clients experiencing stress in different domains of their lives. Two of these tools are designed for assessment and can help identify energy levels, the most effective ways to recharge, and how clients approach and reframe life events. The third tool is an exercise to help develop work–life boundaries.

Looking for even more tools? If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others manage stress without spending hours on research and session prep, check out this collection of 17 validated stress-management tools for practitioners . Use them to help others cope with stress and create more balance in their lives.

Stress is a common experience that can have very serious negative consequences if left unmanaged. However, learning how to cope with stress is vital and will positively impact different spheres of life.

A large amount of stress is due to work demands. Finding a coping solution that works for you, especially one that can be incorporated into the work environment, is a great way to improve your mental health.

We encourage you to try these coping techniques to find the optimal one that will help you manage your stress levels.

Are there any stress coping methods you would recommend personally or that you have found highly effective in your practice? Please share them with us in the comments.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises (PDF) for free .

• Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
• Belvederi Murri, M., Ekkekakis, P., Magagnoli, M., Zampogna, D., Cattedra, S., Capobianco, L., Serafini, G., Calgano, P., Zanetidou, S., & Amore, M. (2019). Physical exercise in major depression: Reducing the mortality gap while improving clinical outcomes. Frontiers in Psychiatry , 9 .
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3 Stress Exercises Pack

Psychology Discussion

Essay on stress: it’s meaning, effects and coping with stress.

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Essay on Stress: It’s Meaning, Effects and Coping with Stress!

Stress is a very common problem being faced today. Every individual will experience stress in one or the other time.

The term stress has many definitions, Lazarus and Folkman (1984) have defined stress as “an internal state which can be caused by physical demands of body or by environmental and social situations, which are evaluated as potentially harmful, uncontrollable, or exceeding our resources for coping”.

According to David Fontana “stress is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body”.

These definitions indicate that stress represents those conditions under which individuals have demand made upon them, that they cannot physically or psychologically meet, leading to breakdown at one or other of these levels.

Stress is usually thought of in negative terms. But ii can manifest itself in both positive and negative way. It is said to be positive when the situation offers an opportunity for one, to gain something.

Eustress (the Greek word ‘eu’ means good) is the term used to describe positive stress. It is often viewed as motivator, since in its absence the individual lacks the spirit necessary for peak performance. Distress is the term used to indicate negative stress.

Almost any change in the environment- even a pleasant change such as a joyful trip- demands some coping, and a little stress is useful in helping us to adapt. But beyond some point, stress becomes a ‘distress’.

What acts to produce distress varies from person to person, but some events seem to be stressors for every person.

Examples of stressors are:

1. Injury or infections of the body, dangers in environment, major changes or transitions in life which force us to cope in new ways.

2. Physical stressors like noise, pollutions, climatic changes, etc.

3. Hustles of everyday life centering on work, family, social activities, health and finances.

4. Frustrations and conflicts.

The physical, environmental and social causes of the stress state are termed stressors. Once induced by stressors the internal stress state can then lead to various responses. On the other hand, psychological responses such as anxiety, hopelessness, depression, irritability, and a general feeling of not being able to cope with the world, can result from the stress state.

Stress cycles:

Stress has a number of immediate effects. If the stressors are maintained, long-term behavioural, physiological, emotional and cognitive effects occur. If these effects hinder adaptation to the environment or create discomfort and distress, they themselves become stressors and, tend to perpetuate a ‘cycle’ of distress.

Example, a patient spends more money on treatment, may experience continued stress even after the cure of the disease, because repayment of debt cause stress for long time in him or a patient whose leg is amputated after accident may continue to worry about it.

On the other hand, many people have developed ways of coping with stressors, so that they are able to respond adaptively. This is the ‘wellness cycle’. Teaching people adaptive ways of handling stress, so as to promote the wellness cycle is an important part of the newly emerging field of behavioural medicine.

Effects of stress:

Stress is not always harmful. In fact, it is recognised that low levels of stress can even helps for better performance. For example, a student can prepare well for forthcoming examination only if he has some stress. However, excess level of stress is undoubtedly harmful.

The effects of stress are divided into three categories:

a. Physiological effects:

Commonly appearing stress related bodily disorders are-peptic ulcers, hypertension, chronic fatigue, hormonal changes, increased heart rate, difficulty in breathing, numbness of limbs, heart disease and reduction in immunity, etc.

b. Psychological effects:

Anxiety, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, anger, nervousness, irritability, tension and boredom may be experienced.

c. Behavioural changes:

Decreasing efficiency, making mistakes, inability to take decisions, under eating or overeating, sleeplessness, increased smoking, develop addiction to alcohol and drugs, forgetfulness, hypersensitivity or passiveness, accident proneness and interpersonal difficulties are seen.

Stress is linked to disorders such as cancer and heart disorders. There are several mediating variables that determine whether stress becomes dangerous or not. For example, good coping mechanisms which can help to reduce stress, having good social support, often help in reducing stress.

Perception of stress or how a person views stress is also very important. For example, a person may not perceive a situation as stressful whereas the same situation may be perceived as highly stressful by some other person.

People with personality type ‘A’ are more prone to be affected by stress related disorders like cardiovascular diseases. Personality character like hardiness or emotional stability helps to withstand effects of stress.

Hans Selye, a renowned biological scientist defines stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand upon it. He termed the body’s response to stressors the “General Adaptation Syndrome” (GAS).

The GAS consists of 3 stages:

1. Alarm reaction:

It is an emergency response of the body. In this stage prompt responses of the body, many of them mediated by the sympathetic nervous system, prepare us to cope with the stressor here and now.

2. Stage of resistance:

If the stressor continues to be present, the stage of resistance begins, wherein the body resists the effects of the continuous stressor. During this stage certain hormonal responses of the body are an important line of defence in resisting the effects of stressors (For example, release of ACTH).

3. Stage of exhaustion:

In this stage, the body’s capacity to respond to both continuous and new stressors has been seriously compromised. The person will no longer be able to face stressor and he will finally succumb to it. The person may develop psychosomatic illness.

The stress leads to many psychosomatic diseases. Treatment for such diseases involves medical help for the physical problems and, at the same time, attention to the psychological factors producing the stress.

Coping with Stress :

There are different ways of coping with stress such as: confronting (facing), distancing (remoteness), self-control, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape or avoid (from the stressor), plan a problem solving strategy and positive reappraisal.

Usually two broad type of coping types are seen- Instrumental coping and Emotional coping.

In instrumental coping, a person focuses on the problem and tries to solve it. In emotional coping, the focus is more on the feelings generated by the problem.

Today, self- help remedies, Do to yourself approaches, weight loss clinics and diets, health foods and physical exercise are being given much attention in mass media. People are actually taking more responsibility to maintain good health.

However, some specific techniques to eliminate or to manage more effectively the inevitable, prolonged stress are as follows:

Good physical exercise like walking, jogging, swimming, riding bicycle, playing soft ball, tennis are necessary to cope with stress.

Relaxation:

Whether a person simply takes it easy once in a while or uses specific relaxation techniques such as bio-feedback, or meditation, the intent is to eliminate the immediately stressful situation or manage a prolonged stressful situation more effectively.

Taking it easy may mean curling up with a good book on an easy chair or watching some light programme on television or listening to a light music. Meditation is scientifically proved to be very useful, both physically and mentally to cope with stress.

Behavioural self-control:

By deliberately managing the antecedents and the consequence of their own behaviour, people can achieve self-control. Besides managing their own behaviour to reduce stress, people can also become more aware of their limits and of ‘red flags’ that signal trouble ahead. They can avoid people or situations that they know will put them under stress.

Maladaptive strategies, rigid strategies or relying on one type of coping method lead to increase in the stress. Social support helps reduce the effect of stress. People may provide help, advice, material support or moral support that helps to reduce stress.

In addition to the above, psychotherapy (Beck’s cognitive therapy, Ellis’s rational emotive therapy and Meichenbaum’s stress- inoculation training), skill training, environmental changes, Bio-feedback (control of physical signs such as Blood pressure, headache, etc), family therapy, group therapy, hypnosis, yoga, are found to be very useful. Finally, uses of drugs are some of the other strategies adopted in coping with stress.

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What is stress management?

9 tips to manage stress, tip 1: identify the causes of stress in your life, tip 2: avoid unhealthy ways of dealing with stress, tip 4: get moving, tip 5: manage your time better, tip 6: connect to others, tip 7: make time for fun and relaxation, tip 8: maintain balance with a healthy lifestyle, tip 9: learn to relieve stress in the moment, stress management how to cope with stressors and destress.

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress in your life, there are healthy steps you can take to destress and regain control.

Stress management provides techniques to deal with unhealthy levels of stress, cope with challenges and adversity, and build resilience. Stress management can help you break the hold stress can have on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive.

It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress—no way to avoid it and no way to destress completely when it hits. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But the truth is, you have a lot more control over stress than you may think.

If you’re living with high levels of stress, you’re putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your overall physical and mental health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life.

The ultimate goal of stress management is to build a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—as well as building the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. But stress management is not one-size-fits-all. That’s why it’s important to experiment with our stress management tips and find out which work best for you.

Whether you’re looking to ease your overall stress levels, avoid unnecessary stressors in your life, build resilience , or cope with stress in the moment, the following tips for destressing can help.

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. While it’s easy to identify major stressors such as changing jobs, moving, or going through a divorce, pinpointing the sources of chronic stress can be more complicated. It’s all too easy to overlook how your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contribute to your everyday stress levels.

Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines, but maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that is causing the stress.

To identify what’s really stressing you out, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”)?
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

Start a stress journal

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, make a note of it in your journal or use a stress tracker on your phone. Keeping a daily log will enable you to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure).
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally.
• How you acted in response.
• What you did to make yourself feel better.

Many of us feel so stressed out, we resort to unhealthy and unproductive ways to cope. A lot of these unhelpful strategies can temporarily reduce stress, but in the long run, they actually cause even more damage:

• Smoking, drinking too much, or using drugs to relax.
• Bingeing on junk or comfort food.
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or phone.
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and social activities.
• Sleeping too much.
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems.
• Procrastinating.
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence).

[Read: Self-Medicating Depression, Anxiety, and Stress]

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones that leave you feeling calm and in control.

Tip 3: Practice the 4 A’s of stress management

While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example. When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction.

When deciding which option to choose in any given scenario, it’s helpful to think of the four A’s: avoid , alter , adapt , or accept .

Avoid unnecessary stress

It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

Learn how to say “no.” Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.

Avoid people who stress you out. If someone consistently causes stress in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship.

Take control of your environment. If the evening news makes you anxious, turn off the TV. If traffic makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

Avoid hot-button topics . If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.

Pare down your to-do list. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Alter the situation

If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the stress will increase.

Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.

Be more assertive.  Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.

Find balance. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.

Adapt to the stressor

If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.

Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.

Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”

Practice gratitude. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life , including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Accept the things you can’t change

Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control, particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.

Look for the upside. When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.

Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Share your feelings. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist.

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

When you’re stressed, the last thing you probably feel like doing is getting up and exercising. But physical activity is a huge stress reliever—and you don’t have to be an athlete or spend hours in a gym to experience the benefits. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it can also serve as a valuable distraction from your daily worries.

While you’ll get the most benefit from regularly exercising for 30 minutes or more, it’s okay to build up your fitness level gradually. Even very small activities can add up over the course of a day. The first step is to get yourself up and moving. Here are some easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule:

• Put on some music and dance around.
• Take your dog for a walk .
• Walk or cycle to the grocery store.
• Use the stairs at home or work rather than an elevator.
• Park your car in the farthest spot in the lot and walk the rest of the way.
• Pair up with an exercise partner and encourage each other as you work out.
• Play ping-pong or an activity-based video game with your kids.

Deal with stress with mindful rhythmic exercise

While just about any form of physical activity can help burn away tension and stress, rhythmic activities are especially effective. Good choices include walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobics. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with it.

While you’re exercising, make a conscious effort to pay attention to your body and the physical (and sometimes emotional) sensations you experience as you’re moving. Focus on coordinating your breathing with your movements, for example, or notice how the air or sunlight feels on your skin. Adding this mindfulness element will help you break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that often accompanies overwhelming stress.

Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. Plus, you’ll be tempted to avoid or cut back on all the healthy things you should be doing to keep stress in check, like socializing and getting enough sleep. The good news: there are things you can do to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take.

Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant or stressful to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.

Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.

Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself, whether at home, school, or on the job. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

There is nothing more calming than spending quality time with another human being who makes you feel safe and understood. In fact, face-to-face interaction triggers a cascade of hormones that counteracts the body’s defensive “fight-or-flight” response. It’s nature’s natural stress reliever (as an added bonus, it also helps stave off depression and anxiety). So make it a point to connect regularly—and in person—with family and friends.

[Read: Social Support for Stress Relief]

Keep in mind that the people you talk to don’t have to be able to fix your stress. They simply need to be good listeners. And try not to let worries about looking weak or being a burden keep you from opening up. The people who care about you will be flattered by your trust. It will only strengthen your bond.

Of course, it’s not always realistic to have a pal close by to lean on when you feel overwhelmed by stress, but by building and maintaining a network of close friends you can improve your resiliency to life’s stressors.

Tips for building relationships

• Reach out to a colleague at work.
• Help someone else by volunteering .
• Have lunch or coffee with a friend.
• Ask a loved one to check in with you regularly.
• Call or email an old friend.
• Go for a walk with a workout buddy.
• Schedule a weekly dinner date.
• Meet new people by taking a class or joining a club.
• Confide in a clergy member, teacher, or sports coach.
• Join a support group—either in-person or via on online therapy platform .

Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by carving out “me” time. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors.

Set aside leisure time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.

Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.

Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Take up a relaxation practice. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response , a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the fight or flight or mobilization stress response. As you learn and practice these techniques, your stress levels will decrease and your mind and body will become calm and centered.

In addition to regular exercise, there are other healthy lifestyle choices that can increase your resistance to stress.

Eat a healthy diet . Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet , you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.

Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

When you’re frazzled by your morning commute, stuck in a stressful meeting at work, or fried from another argument with your spouse, you need a way to manage your stress levels right now . That’s where quick stress relief comes in.

The fastest way to reduce stress is by taking a deep breath and using your senses—what you see, hear, taste, and touch—or through a soothing movement. By viewing a favorite photo, smelling a specific scent, listening to a favorite piece of music, tasting a piece of gum, or hugging a pet, for example, you can quickly relax and focus yourself.

[Read: Quick Stress Relief]

Of course, not everyone responds to each sensory experience in the same way. The key to quick stress relief is to experiment and discover the unique sensory experiences that work best for you.

More Information

• Special Health Report - Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School on Stress. (Harvard Health)
• Tolerating Distress - Workbook and information sheets to help you manage feelings of distress. (Centre for Clinical Interventions)
• How To Relax (Video) - Video to help you ease stress. (Mind)
• Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• Can, Yekta Said, Heather Iles-Smith, Niaz Chalabianloo, Deniz Ekiz, Javier Fernández-Álvarez, Claudia Repetto, Giuseppe Riva, and Cem Ersoy. “How to Relax in Stressful Situations: A Smart Stress Reduction System.” Healthcare 8, no. 2 (April 16, 2020): 100. Link
• Norelli, Samantha K., Ashley Long, and Jeffrey M. Krepps. “Relaxation Techniques.” In StatPearls . Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2021. Link
• Toussaint, Loren, Quang Anh Nguyen, Claire Roettger, Kiara Dixon, Martin Offenbächer, Niko Kohls, Jameson Hirsch, and Fuschia Sirois. “Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, and Guided Imagery in Promoting Psychological and Physiological States of Relaxation.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2021 (July 3, 2021): e5924040. Link
• Unger, Cynthia A, David Busse, and Ilona S Yim. “The Effect of Guided Relaxation on Cortisol and Affect: Stress Reactivity as a Moderator.” Journal of Health Psychology 22, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 29–38. Link
• Singh, Karuna. “Nutrient and Stress Management.” Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences 6, no. 4 (2016). Link
• Katsarou, Alexia L., Marios M. Vryonis, Athanassios D. Protogerou, Evangelos C. Alexopoulos, Apostolos Achimastos, Dimitrios Papadogiannis, George P. Chrousos, and Christina Darviri. “Stress Management and Dietary Counseling in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Study of Additional Effect.” Primary Health Care Research & Development 15, no. 1 (January 2014): 38–45. Link
• Errisuriz, Vanessa L., Keryn E. Pasch, and Cheryl L. Perry. “Perceived Stress and Dietary Choices: The Moderating Role of Stress Management.” Eating Behaviors 22 (August 1, 2016): 211–16. Link
• Choi, Dong-Woo, Sung-Youn Chun, Sang Ah Lee, Kyu-Tae Han, and Eun-Cheol Park. “Association between Sleep Duration and Perceived Stress: Salaried Worker in Circumstances of High Workload.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 4 (April 2018): 796. Link
• Blaxton, Jessica M., Cindy S. Bergeman, Brenda R. Whitehead, Marcia E. Braun, and Jessic D. Payne. “Relationships Among Nightly Sleep Quality, Daily Stress, and Daily Affect.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 72, no. 3 (May 1, 2017): 363–72. Link
• Saleh, Dalia, Nathalie Camart, Fouad Sbeira, and Lucia Romo. “Can We Learn to Manage Stress? A Randomized Controlled Trial Carried out on University Students.” PLOS ONE 13, no. 9 (September 5, 2018): e0200997. Link
• Loprinzi, Paul D., and Emily Frith. “Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Exercise on Stress-Induced Memory Impairment.” The Journal of Physiological Sciences: JPS 69, no. 1 (January 2019): 1–12. Link
• Salmon, P. “Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression, and Sensitivity to Stress: A Unifying Theory.” Clinical Psychology Review 21, no. 1 (February 2001): 33–61. Link

More in Stress

The power of the relaxation response to reduce stress and boost mood

Using your senses to relieve stress on the spot

How to Stop Worrying

Self-help strategies for anxiety relief

Quick tips for when you’re short on time

Using close relationships to manage stress and improve well-being

Fill your life with music that reduces daily stress

Tips for overcoming adversity

Tips on dealing with money worries

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What Is Stress?

Your Body's Response to a Situation That Requires Attention or Action

Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

• Identifying
• Next in How Stress Impacts Your Health Guide How to Recognize Burnout Symptoms

Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical , emotional, or psychological strain. Stress is your body's response to anything that requires attention or action. 

Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way you respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to your overall well-being.

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

Sometimes, the best way to manage your stress involves changing your situation. At other times, the best strategy involves changing the way you respond to the situation.

Developing a clear understanding of how stress impacts your physical and mental health is important. It's also important to recognize how your mental and physical health affects your stress level.

Watch Now: 5 Ways Stress Can Cause Weight Gain

Signs of stress.

Stress can be short-term or long-term. Both can lead to a variety of symptoms, but chronic stress can take a serious toll on the body over time and have long-lasting health effects.

Some common signs of stress include:

• Changes in mood
• Clammy or sweaty palms
• Decreased sex drive
• Difficulty sleeping
• Digestive problems
• Feeling anxious
• Frequent sickness
• Grinding teeth
• Muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders
• Physical aches and pains
• Racing heartbeat

Identifying Stress

What does stress feel like? What does stress feel like? It often contributes to irritability, fear, overwork, and frustration. You may feel physically exhausted, worn out, and unable to cope.

Stress is not always easy to recognize, but there are some ways to identify some signs that you might be experiencing too much pressure. Sometimes stress can come from an obvious source, but sometimes even small daily stresses from work, school, family, and friends can take a toll on your mind and body.

If you think stress might be affecting you, there are a few things you can watch for:

• Psychological signs such as difficulty concentrating, worrying, anxiety, and trouble remembering
• Emotional signs such as being angry, irritated, moody, or frustrated
• Physical signs such as high blood pressure, changes in weight, frequent colds or infections, and changes in the menstrual cycle and libido
• Behavioral signs such as poor self-care, not having time for the things you enjoy, or relying on drugs and alcohol to cope

Stress vs. Anxiety

Stress can sometimes be mistaken for anxiety, and experiencing a great deal of stress can contribute to feelings of anxiety. Experiencing anxiety can make it more difficult to cope with stress and may contribute to other health issues, including increased depression, susceptibility to illness, and digestive problems.

Stress and anxiety contribute to nervousness, poor sleep, high blood pressure , muscle tension, and excess worry. In most cases, stress is caused by external events, while anxiety is caused by your internal reaction to stress. Stress may go away once the threat or the situation resolves, whereas anxiety may persist even after the original stressor is gone.

Causes of Stress

There are many different things in life that can cause stress. Some of the main sources of stress include work, finances, relationships, parenting, and day-to-day inconveniences.

Stress can trigger the body’s response to a perceived threat or danger, known as the fight-or-flight response .   During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released. This speeds the heart rate, slows digestion, shunts blood flow to major muscle groups, and changes various other autonomic nervous functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength.

Originally named for its ability to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, the fight-or-flight response is now activated in situations where neither response is appropriate—like in traffic or during a stressful day at work.

When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response .   But in cases of chronic stress, the relaxation response doesn't occur often enough, and being in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight can cause damage to the body.

Stress can also lead to some unhealthy habits that have a negative impact on your health. For example, many people cope with stress by eating too much or by smoking. These unhealthy habits damage the body and create bigger problems in the long-term.  

Mental Health in the Workplace Webinar

On May 19, 2022, Verywell Mind hosted a virtual Mental Health in the Workplace webinar, hosted by Amy Morin, LCSW. If you missed it, check out  this recap  to learn ways to foster supportive work environments and helpful strategies to improve your well-being on the job.

Types of Stress

Not all types of stress are harmful or even negative. Some of the different types of stress that you might experience include:

• Acute stress : Acute stress is a very short-term type of stress that can either be positive or more distressing; this is the type of stress we most often encounter in day-to-day life.
• Chronic stress : Chronic stress is stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job; chronic stress can also stem from traumatic experiences and childhood trauma.
• Episodic acute stress : Episodic acute stress is acute stress that seems to run rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of ongoing distress.
• Eustress : Eustress is fun and exciting. It's known as a positive type of stress that can keep you energized. It's associated with surges of adrenaline, such as when you are skiing or racing to meet a deadline. 

4 Main Types of Stress:

The main harmful types of stress are acute stress, chronic stress, and episodic acute stress. Acute stress is usually brief, chronic stress is prolonged, and episodic acute stress is short-term but frequent. Positive stress, known as eustress, can be fun and exciting, but it can also take a toll.

Impact of Stress

Stress can have several effects on your health and well-being. It can make it more challenging to deal with life's daily hassles, affect your interpersonal relationships, and have detrimental effects on your health. The connection between your mind and body is apparent when you examine stress's impact on your life.

Feeling stressed over a relationship, money, or living situation can create physical health issues. The inverse is also true. Health problems, whether you're dealing with high blood pressure or diabetes , will also affect your stress level and mental health. When your brain experiences high degrees of stress , your body reacts accordingly.

Serious acute stress, like being involved in a natural disaster or getting into a verbal altercation, can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even sudden death. However, this happens mostly in individuals who already have heart disease.

Stress also takes an emotional toll. While some stress may produce feelings of mild anxiety or frustration, prolonged stress can also lead to burnout , anxiety disorders , and depression.

Chronic stress can have a serious impact on your health as well. If you experience chronic stress, your autonomic nervous system will be overactive, which is likely to damage your body.

Stress-Influenced Conditions

• Heart disease
• Hyperthyroidism
• Sexual dysfunction
• Tooth and gum disease

Treatments for Stress

Stress is not a distinct medical diagnosis and there is no single, specific treatment for it. Treatment for stress focuses on changing the situation, developing stress coping skills , implementing relaxation techniques, and treating symptoms or conditions that may have been caused by chronic stress.

Some interventions that may be helpful include therapy, medication, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Press Play for Advice On Managing Stress

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast featuring professor Elissa Epel, shares ways to manage stress. Click below to listen now.

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Psychotherapy

Some forms of therapy that may be particularly helpful in addressing symptoms of stress including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) . CBT focuses on helping people identify and change negative thinking patterns, while MBSR utilizes meditation and mindfulness to help reduce stress levels.

Medication may sometimes be prescribed to address some specific symptoms that are related to stress. Such medications may include sleep aids, antacids, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Some complementary approaches that may also be helpful for reducing stress include acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, yoga, and meditation .

Coping With Stress

Although stress is inevitable, it can be manageable. When you understand the toll it takes on you and the steps to combat stress, you can take charge of your health and reduce the impact stress has on your life.

• Learn to recognize the signs of burnout. High levels of stress may place you at a high risk of burnout. Burnout can leave you feeling exhausted and apathetic about your job.   When you start to feel symptoms of emotional exhaustion, it's a sign that you need to find a way to get a handle on your stress.
• Try to get regular exercise. Physical activity has a big impact on your brain and your body . Whether you enjoy Tai Chi or you want to begin jogging, exercise reduces stress and improves many symptoms associated with mental illness.  
• Take care of yourself. Incorporating regular self-care activities into your daily life is essential to stress management. Learn how to take care of your mind, body, and spirit and discover how to equip yourself to live your best life.  
• Practice mindfulness in your life. Mindfulness isn't just something you practice for 10 minutes each day. It can also be a way of life. Discover how to live more mindfully throughout your day so you can become more awake and conscious throughout your life.  

If you or a loved one are struggling with stress, contact the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline  at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

Cleveland Clinic. Stress .

National institute of Mental Health. I'm so stressed out! Fact sheet .

Goldstein DS. Adrenal responses to stress .  Cell Mol Neurobiol . 2010;30(8):1433–1440. doi:10.1007/s10571-010-9606-9

Stahl JE, Dossett ML, LaJoie AS, et al. Relaxation response and resiliency training and its effect on healthcare resource utilization [published correction appears in PLoS One . 2017 Feb 21;12 (2):e0172874].  PLoS One . 2015;10(10):e0140212. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140212

American Heart Association. Stress and Heart Health.

Chi JS, Kloner RA. Stress and myocardial infarction .  Heart . 2003;89(5):475–476. doi:10.1136/heart.89.5.475

Salvagioni DAJ, Melanda FN, Mesas AE, González AD, Gabani FL, Andrade SM. Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies .  PLoS One . 2017;12(10):e0185781. Published 2017 Oct 4. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185781

Bitonte RA, DeSanto DJ 2nd. Mandatory physical exercise for the prevention of mental illness in medical students .  Ment Illn . 2014;6(2):5549. doi:10.4081/mi.2014.5549

Ayala EE, Winseman JS, Johnsen RD, Mason HRC. U.S. medical students who engage in self-care report less stress and higher quality of life .  BMC Med Educ . 2018;18(1):189. doi:10.1186/s12909-018-1296-x

Richards KC, Campenni CE, Muse-Burke JL. Self-care and well-being in mental health professionals: The mediating effects of self-awareness and mindfulness .  J Ment Health Couns . 2010;32(3):247. doi:10.17744/mehc.32.3.0n31v88304423806.

American Psychological Association. 2015 Stress in America .

Krantz DS, Whittaker KS, Sheps DS.  Psychosocial risk factors for coronary heart disease: Pathophysiologic mechanisms .  In R. Allan & J. Fisher,  Heart and mind: The practice of cardiac psychology. American Psychological Association; 2011:91-113. doi:10.1037/13086-004

By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Essays About Stress: 5 Examples and 7 Helpful Prompts

Stress deals with various sensitive matters and is a popular topic. See our top examples of essays about stress and prompts to assist in your writing.

Stress is a poison that gradually affects a person’s mental and physical health. It’s a common problem in all aspects of life, with money being the top stressor. There’s also a spectrum of stress, but chronic stress is the most dangerous of all types and levels. It can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, anxiety disorders, heart disease, and more.

5 Essay Examples 

1. post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 2. coping up with stress by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 3. stress management: how stress can cause mental illness and how to treat it by anonymous on papersowl.com, 4. assessing the personal stress levels by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 5. sources of stress in youths by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 1. what is stress, 2. good stress vs. bad stress, 3. how stress can affect our daily lives, 4. the impact of stress on children, 5. what is financial stress, 6. the importance of stress management, 7. stress and health problems.

“…the self-medication hypothesis… is supportive to healthcare as it offers a clear pathway to sufferers from existing addiction, which, in turn, enhances the bond between specialists and victims, it improves access to dosages, and it may also decrease the cost of a prescribed drug.”

In this essay, the writer investigates the leading causes of stress and substance abuse resulting from a disorder. They note that stress, anxiety, and depression often develop after divorce, widowhood, disasters, and other traumatic events. 

To show the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use, the author adds statistics and situations in which people who have gone through a separation or sexual abuse utilize self-medication, drugs, and alcohol to forget what happened to them. However, this brief escapes lead to addiction. Ultimately, the writer believes that developing stress, anxiety, and depression coping alternatives will reduce the number of people addicted to substances.

Do you want to write about depression? Check out our guide on how to write essays about depression .

“Stress coping and management is essential to have a healthy life. We need to manage stress effectively to avoid the side effects that can arise if not managed effectively. Let’s prioritize on our tasks, manage a healthy lifestyle, have time for fun and for one another, and practice the 4A’s of stress management to have a stress free life.”

This essay shares that stress can be beneficial as it teaches a person to handle difficult situations. However, stress becomes dangerous when it starts to control someone’s life. That’s why it’s vital to manage stress depending on its severity. 

To effectively cope with stress, the author suggests having a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and writing in journals. They also mention the importance of talking to a professional and identifying and avoiding the primary source of stress. 

“When people get stressed out, they try many coping mechanisms, and that usually helps a decent amount, however for some, the stress can be too overwhelming. That being said, stress is seen to have a very significant link to mental illness, more specifically, schizophrenia.”

In this essay, the author contends that stress is the root cause of some mental illnesses like schizophrenia. To support the claim, the author uses a real-life situation and shows the development of the disease, originating from the simple stress of moving and working in the city. 

The essay presents the different levels of schizophrenia and its symptoms. Then, after offering various sources, the author concludes that the most common way to treat stress and schizophrenia is having someone to spend time with and get therapy. You might also be interested in these essays about leadership .

“… A proper assessment of an individual’s stress levels is a critical factor in their well-being. Physiological and psychological aspects of intense pressure should be carefully studied and checked. Using corresponding methods and tools can be of significant help for the person, providing them with a clear understanding of the problems encountered.”

In this essay, the author discusses tools that help assess stress levels and effective strategies for combating stress. They use the “Symptoms of Stress Methodology” from Stress Management for Life: A Research-Based Experiential Approach and the “Ardell Wellness Stress Test” to determine stress levels and evaluate physiological symptoms. These symptoms assist in constructing effective ways to release stress, including participating in PTSD therapies and getting a service dog.

“Early exposure to stress not only affects children’s social and mental development during their formative years, it also can increase the risk of alcoholism, illicit drug use, adult depression, anxiety, and even heart disease much later in life.”

In this essay, the writer proves that stress can affect people of all ages and genders. However, the author focuses on young people and how quickly it appears in their adult life. According to the author, technostress, the fear of missing out, lack of personal space, and high expectations are the common causes of stress in youths. 

The author strongly discourages using drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol to relieve stress. Instead, they recommend reducing stress by taking regular breaks, replacing big life goals with smaller, more attainable goals, being open and sharing problems with others, and getting professional help.

7 Writing Prompts for Essays About Stress

Stress is a person’s emotional response to pressure to meet standards, commitments, and responsibilities. It usually occurs in a situation or an outcome we fail to manage or control. In your essay, explain what stress is all about and why it’s essential to understand this reaction. Use this prompt to help your readers know the early signs of stress. Then, add ways stress can be managed and avoided, so it doesn’t interfere with daily activities.

Although stress is often connected with bad instances, there’s also “good stress,” or eustress. Eustress pertains to a positive response to a stressor. For example, it happens when one is excited or ecstatic. Meanwhile, bad stress, or “distress,” negatively affects your mental and physical well-being. 

Consider using this prompt to compare and contrast the good and bad stress that people usually experience. Then, give real-life examples and suggest how your readers can effectively handle both eustress and distress.

The effects of stress vary in degree and duration. For example, stress can prevent us from functioning properly at work, home, or anywhere else. It can also affect our relationships with others and with ourselves.

To make your essay relatable, share a personal experience on how stress affects your life. You can also interview others in various professions and statuses to demonstrate the range of which stress affects different individuals.

Stress does not only occur among adults or teenagers. Children can also experience stress at a young age. For instance, a child can succumb to the pressure of adapting to a new environment, getting bullied, and sometimes being separated from loved ones. These can lead to anxiety, trust issues, and depression.

Identify and discuss these factors and why it affects young children. Include recent statistics that show the number of children experiencing stress and additional relevant citations to make your essay credible.

The most recent survey found that 65% of Americans worry about money and the economy’s decline. Pick this prompt to make your essay relevant and informative. Delve into what financial stress is and discuss its typical causes and effects. Then, add the latest percentage of people who experience financial stress and address why it’s a pressing issue.

Stress management offers various strategies to battle stress. First, explain to your readers the importance and effectiveness of proper stress management. Then, include proven and tested methods commonly used to treat stress. You can also share the strategies that have worked for you to persuade your readers that stress management is effective.

Stress causes several physical and mental health problems. Use this prompt to show the importance of treating stress before it worsens and affects a person’s welfare. Include research findings from reliable sources and real-life experiences where someone has damaged their health because of stress. If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our essays about bullying topic guide !

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Coping with Stress

Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful and overwhelming. Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will help you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.

Stress can cause the following:

• Feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration.
• Changes in appetite, energy, desires, and interests.
• Trouble concentrating and making decisions.
• Nightmares or problems sleeping.
• Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, or skin rashes.
• Worsening of chronic health problems and mental health conditions.
• Increased use of  alcohol , illegal drugs (like heroin , cocaine , or methamphetamine ), and misuse of prescription drugs (like opioids).
• Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress
• If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
• Disaster Distress Helpline : CALL or TEXT 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish)

Here are some ways you can manage stress, anxiety, grief, or worry:

• Take breaks from news stories, including those on social media. It’s good to be informed, but constant information about negative events can be upsetting. Consider limiting news to just a couple times a day and disconnecting from phone, TV, and computer screens for a while.
• Eat healthy. Have fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and low-fat or no-fat dairy. Limit foods with unhealthy fats, salt, and added sugars. See Healthy Eating Tips .
• Get enough sleep.  Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to help you sleep better . Adults need 7 or more hours per night.
• Move more and sit less. Every little bit of physical activity helps. Start small and build up to 2 ½ hours a week. You can break it into smaller amounts such as 20 to 30 minutes a day.
• Limit alcohol  intake. Choose not to drink, or drink in moderation on days you drink alcohol. Moderation means having 2 drinks or less a day for men or 1 drink or less for women. Find out more at Drink Less, Be Your Best .
• Avoid using illegal drugs or prescription drugs in ways other than prescribed. Don’t take someone else’s prescription. Substance use treatment is available, and recovery starts with asking for help.
• Avoid smoking , vaping, and the use of other tobacco products. People can and do quit smoking for good.
• Continue with regular health appointments, tests, screenings, and vaccinations.
• Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate .
• Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
• Connect with your community-based or faith-based organizations.

For Everyone

• How Right Now — Finding What Helps
• Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event
• Suicide Prevention
• I’m So Stressed Out! Fact Sheet (NIMH)
• Mindfulness Coach – PTSD: National Center for PTSD (va.gov)

For Families and Children

• Helping Children Cope with Emergencies
• Adolescent Mental Health
• Tools for Supporting Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Youth

Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
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• You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
• CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.

Stress and Its Effects on Health Essay

Introduction, physical effects, psychological effects, behavioral effects.

Stress is the emotional strain or tension experienced by an individual due to a reaction toward various demanding and influential situations. The challenging or compelling situations are termed stressors. Stressors can be internal or external and include life changes such as losing a significant figure, low socioeconomic status, relationship problems, occupational challenges, and familial or environmental factors. An individual’s response to stressors influences the outcome of their life. Health is a state of complete social, emotional, and physical well-being and not merely the absence of disease. Stress is a common risk factor for negative health status secondary to negative adaptation and coping with the stressors. Stressors can create a strain on one’s physical, psychological and behavioral well-being, leading to lasting effects that are detrimental to one’s health.

Stress is associated with various physical health impacts on an individual. In an online cross-sectional survey by Keech et al. (2020) to determine the association between stress and the physical and psychological health of police officers, the findings illustrate that stress negatively impacts physical and psychological well-being. One hundred and thirty-four police officers were involved in the study (Keech et al., 2020). The findings demonstrate that stress resulted in various short and long-term physical effects that included increased heart rates, sweating, high blood pressure, and long-term development of the cardiac condition. In addition, stress resulted in the development of gastrointestinal disorders such as peptic ulcer and irritable bowel syndrome. Keech et al. (2020) note that stress’s associated physical health effects are explained by various mechanisms that include overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.

Overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system results in increased sympathetic actions on the peripheral body organs leading to increased sweat production, heart rate, respiration rate, and urinary and bowel elimination. The study notes that chronic stress without positive adaptation measures results in the progressive development of hypertension, peptic ulcers, and irritable bowel syndrome as long-term effects (Keech et al., 2020). Within the gastrointestinal tract, chronic stress activity on the sympathetic nervous system results in increased parietal cell action. Overactivity of the parietal cells results in excessive gastric acid production, gradually eroding the mucosa, and ulceration occurs.

The effects of stress on the cardiovascular system are explained in a review by Kivimäki & Steptoe (2017) to determine the impact of stress on the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. In the review, stress is identified to cause cardiovascular conditions secondary to the effects of sustained sympathetic action on heart contractility and peripheral vascular resistance (Kivimäki & Steptoe, 2017). The sympathetic nervous system contributes to normal heart and blood vessel contractility. However, when the system is overstimulated, a surge in contractility above the normal limits ensues, leading to the progressive development of heart conditions.

Psychological well-being incorporates a positive mental health status evidenced by an individual’s satisfaction with life, happiness, rational thinking and decision-making, and positive mood patterns. Stress has been associated with alterations in an individual’s psychological wellness. An explanation for alteration in an individual’s psychological well-being secondary to stress is negative adaptation. Keech et al. (2020) note that an individual’s response to a stressor determines whether stress results in positive or negative effects. In the online cross-sectional survey by Keech et al. (2020), the findings illustrate that pressure resulted in the development of anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorders as long-term effects among the participants. Exposure to stressful situations resulted in progressively developing anxiety among the individual secondary to persistent worry over the issue. The anxiety results in other physical manifestations, including increased heart rate, palpitations, sweating, and altered mobility. Depression and bipolar conditions were also associated with chronic stress secondary to the impacts of stress on neurotransmitter function and nerves.

Similar findings are noted in a cross-sectional study by Zhang et al. (2020) to compare the prevalence and severity of stress-associated mental health symptoms, including anxiety, depression, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID pandemic. Five hundred and twenty-four healthcare workers were involved in the study. The study findings illustrate that 31.3% of the participants developed depression secondary to the stressful working environment, 41.2% reported anxiety, and 39.3% reported sleep disturbances (Zhang et al., 2020). The scientific explanation for the relationship between stress and depression was attributed to the effects of stressful periods on neurotransmitter homeostasis. Chronic stress results in the altered regulation of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Alterations in serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine resulted in the progressive development of depression and anxiety. Sleep disturbances reported by the participants are attributed to alterations in cortisol hormone homeostasis secondary to overstimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.

Stressful situations can also lead to alterations in the behavioral patterns of an individual. The most common behavioral effects secondary to stress include the development of eating disorders, altered sleeping patterns, impaired concentration, and drug abuse especially alcohol. Alterations in sleep and eating patterns are linked to stress’s effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA). Exposure to stressful events leads to increased activation of the HPA axis with a net effect of increased catecholamine production (adrenaline and noradrenaline) (Moustafa et al., 2018). Increased adrenaline and noradrenaline production results in dysregulation in the eating and sleeping patterns. Sustained high levels of cortisol results in difficulty falling asleep and increased metabolic processes. The biological clock regulates the typical sleeping pattern that relies on producing the sleep hormone melatonin. Melatonin production by the pineal gland is regulated indirectly by the concentration of serum cortisol levels and directly by light perception. Imbalances in the serum concentration cycle secondary to stress results in imbalanced melatonin production and concentration with a net effect of sleeping difficulties.

The emotional strain caused by stress increases the risk of alcohol and other illicit drug use and dependence. Moustafa et al. (2018) conducted an integrative literature review to determine the relationship between childhood trauma, early-life stress, alcohol and drug use, addiction, and abuse. The review findings illustrate that stress increases the risk of alcohol and drug use, addiction, and abuse among the victims. An explanation for the increased risk is the individuals’ lack of identification and implementation of effective coping strategies (Moustafa et al., 2018). Lack of effective coping strategies results in maladaptive measures such as illicit drug use and alcohol consumption. Extensive use of the maladaptive measures results in progressive addiction and drug abuse among individuals with an increased predisposition to other health effects. Alcohol consumption and other illicit drug use over time increase the risk of developing cardiac, respiratory, and liver conditions.

Stress is the emotional strain or tension experienced by an individual due to a reaction toward various demanding and influential situations. Individual response to stressors influences their health. Maladaptive response to stress results in various physical, psychological, and behavioral negative effects. Negative effects of stress on physical health include increased heart rates, sweating, high blood pressure, and long-term development of the cardiac condition. Psychological effects include the development of anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorders. The behavioral effects of stress on an individual include the development of eating disorders, altered sleeping patterns, impaired concentration, and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Based on the research findings, it is essential for healthcare providers to identify strategic measures and health initiatives to educate and sensitize the community members on effective stress management approaches in all settings to aid in combating the health effects.

Keech, J. J., Cole, K. L., Hagger, M. S., & Hamilton, K. (2020). The association between stress mindset and physical and psychological well being: Testing a stress beliefs model in police officers . Psychology & Health , 35 (11), 1306-1325. Web.

Kivimäki, M., & Steptoe, A. (2017). Effects of stress on the development and progression of cardiovascular disease . Nature Reviews Cardiology , 15 (4), 215–229. Web.

Moustafa, A. A., Parkes, D., Fitzgerald, L., Underhill, D., Garami, J., Levy-Gigi, E., Stramecki, F., Valikhani, A., Frydecka, D., & Misiak, B. (2018). The relationship between childhood trauma, early-life stress, and alcohol and drug use, abuse, and addiction: An integrative review . Current Psychology , 40 (2), 579–584. Web.

Zhang, X., Zhao, K., Zhang, G., Feng, R., Chen, J., Xu, D., Liu, X., Ngoubene-Italy, A. J., Huang, H., Liu, Y., Chen, L., & Wang, W. (2020). Occupational Stress and Mental Health: A comparison between frontline medical staff and non-frontline medical staff during the 2019 novel Coronavirus Disease outbreak . Frontiers in Psychiatry , 11 . Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 19). Stress and Its Effects on Health. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-and-its-effects-on-health/

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Stress and Its Effects on Health." December 19, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-and-its-effects-on-health/.

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Essay on Stress Management

500 words essay on stress management.

Stress is a very complex phenomenon that we can define in several ways. However, if you put them together, it is basically the wear and tear of daily life. Stress management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies for controlling a person’s stress level, especially chronic stress . If there is effective stress management, we can help one another break the hold of stress on our lives. The essay on stress management will throw light on the very same thing.

Identifying the Source of Stress

The first step of stress management is identifying the source of stress in your life. It is not as easy as that but it is essential. The true source of stress may not always be evident as we tend to overlook our own stress-inducing thoughts and feelings.

For instance, you might constantly worry about meeting your deadline. But, in reality, maybe your procrastination is what leads to this stress than the actual deadline. In order to identify the source of stress, we must look closely within ourselves.

If you explain away stress as temporary, then it may be a problem. Like if you yourself don’t take a breather from time to time, what is the point? On the other hand, is stress an integral part of your work and you acknowledging it like that?

If you make it a part of your personality, like you label things as crazy or nervous energy, you need to look further. Most importantly, do you blame the stress on people around you or the events surrounding you?

It is essential to take responsibility for the role one plays in creating or maintaining stress. Your stress will remain outside your control if you do not do it.

Strategies for Stress Management

It is obvious that we cannot avoid all kinds of stress but there are many stressors in your life which you can definitely eliminate. It is important to learn how to say no and stick to them.  Try to avoid people who stress you out.

Further, if you cannot avoid a stressful situation, try altering it. Express your feelings don’t bottle them up and manage your time better. Moreover, you can also adapt to the stressor if you can’t change it.

Reframe problems and look at the big picture. Similarly, adjust your standards and focus on the positive side. Never try to control the uncontrollable. Most importantly, make time for having fun and relaxing.

Spend some time with nature, go for a walk or call a friend, whatever pleases you.  You can also try working out, listening to music and more. As long as it makes you happy, never give up.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Stress Management

All in all, we can control our stress levels with relaxation techniques that evoke the relaxation response of our body. It is the state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response. Thus, when you practice these techniques regularly, you can build your resilience and heal yourself.

FAQ of Essay on Stress Management

Question 1: What is the importance of stress management?

Answer 1: Stress management is very efficient as it helps in breaking the hold which stress has on our lives. Moreover, you can also become happy, healthy and more productive because of it. The ultimate goal should be to live a balanced life and have the resilience to hold up under pressure.

Question 2: Give some stress management techniques.

Answer 2: There are many stress management techniques through which one can reduce stress in their lives. One can change their situation or their reaction to it. We can try by altering the situation. If not, we can change our attitudes towards it. Remember, accept things that you cannot change.

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1 Stress, Health, and Coping: An Overview

Susan Folkman, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco.

• Published: 18 September 2012
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New technologies, new multidisciplinary approaches, scientific curiosity, and popular demand have all contributed to the growth in the stress, coping, and health research enterprise over the past 30 years. Much of this research originally focused on establishing that stress was in fact harmful to mental and physical health. As these harmful effects became evident, interest grew in coping processes that could mitigate them. Then, in the 1990s, a number of factors converged to generate interest in resilience and well-being in the face of stress. The scope of coping expanded accordingly, and new forms of coping that generated and sustained resilience and well-being were identified and explored. The chapters in this volume are written by leaders in the field who offer authoritative reviews and provocative critiques of where the field is now and exciting previews of new directions in which stress and coping research is headed.

The research literature on psychological stress, coping, and health is impressive in its breadth, depth, and complexity. Scientists are exploring the causes and manifestations of stress at every level of analysis, from the micro levels of the genome and cell to the macro levels of culture and society. The continuous and rapid development of new technologies and the concurrent emergence of new multidisciplinary fields of inquiry open the way to new theoretical models, new hypotheses, and new discoveries.

And there is a ready market for these new research findings: a public that has an insatiable appetite for information and advice about how to cope with the stress that pervades daily life. A Google search showed approximately 1.4 million entries for “self-help books on coping.” A similar search at Amazon.com showed approximately 2,100 book titles. Although these self-help books, as well as magazine articles, DVDs, blogs, and other media, are all well intended, many are simplistic and uninformed by science.

Two central themes characterize much of the research literature on psychological stress: (a) the wear and tear of stress on mental and physical health and (b) well-being and resilience in the face of stress. The first theme dominated the field for about 30 years, beginning with the publication of Richard Lazarus’ seminal book Psychological Stress and the Coping Process (Lazarus, 1966 ). Research during those years produced substantial evidence of undesirable outcomes associated with stress. The stress of bereavement, for example, was shown to be associated with documented increases in morbidity and mortality (Stroebe & Stroebe, 1987 ); the stress of caregiving was shown to be associated with deleterious effects on immune functioning (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1987 ); and anger and hostility, emotions often experienced in stressful situations, were shown to have harmful effects on the cardiovascular system (Booth-Kewley & Friedman, 1987 ). More recently, as several chapters in this volume attest, attention has turned to the genetic, biological, psychological, and social mediating pathways through which stressful life circumstances take their toll on mental, social, and physical functioning.

Interest in how to mitigate the harmful effects of stress, otherwise known as coping, followed quickly. Questions initially dealt with how to conceptualize coping (Coelho, Hamburg, & Adams, 1974 ). It was viewed as a mature defense mechanism (Vaillant, 1977 ), as a stable aspect of personality (Miller, 1987 ), and as a dynamic process shaped by situational demands and the person’s resources for coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980 ). Regardless of how coping was conceptualized, these earlier approaches shared a concern with the regulation of negative emotions and distress. The study of well-being and resilience in the face of stress during this period was confined largely to the literature on children (e.g., Murphy, 1974 ).

The picture changed in the 1990s when a dramatic increase of interest in stress-related resilience signaled a new phase of exploration across the social and behavioral sciences (Bonnano, 2009 ). Processes that contribute to the maintenance of well-being during stressful situations as well as processes that contribute to recovery in the aftermath became popular topics at conferences and in journals. Ideas came from the emerging area of positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ), growing recognition of the human capacity to find benefit (Affleck & Tennen, 1996 ) and grow in the face of stress (Tedeschi, Park, & Calhoun, 1998 ), and heightened awareness of the benefits of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998 ) and their role in the stress process (Folkman, 1997 ). As will be evident in the chapters that follow, our understanding of stress and coping processes is broadened significantly by addressing both themes.

Organization

This volume is organized in six sections: developmental perspectives on stress and coping; social aspects of stress and coping; models of stress, coping, and positive and negative outcomes; coping processes and positive and negative outcomes; assessing coping; new technologies and concepts; and coping interventions. The titles of the sections suggest distinct content, but as will be evident, the discussions in each chapter often cross content areas. The final chapter synthesizes the discussion, offers comments, and suggests directions for future research.

Developmental perspectives on stress and coping

Stress is experienced at every age, and at every age individuals try to cope with it. Developmental perspectives are essential for understanding how stress and coping processes change from childhood through old age.

Carolyn Aldwin (Chapter 2 ) views stress and coping processes in terms of trajectories over the life span. Aldwin has three goals in her chapter: to examine how stress processes change over the lifespan, how coping processes change, and whether vulnerability to stress varies systematically at different life stages. She points out that stress, coping, and health reflect life-long processes that develop or change through all phases of life as a result of biological factors, individuals’ behaviors, and socio-contextual influences. Aldwin’s review addresses interesting questions concerning changes in the content and frequency of three categories of stressors—traumas, major life events, and hassles—from early childhood through older ages. These changes, Aldwin argues, reflect the sociocultural and socioenvironmental circumstances of the individual’s life. In contrast to changes in stressors, Aldwin believes that changes in coping have to do with changes in the individual’s own skills and capacity for learning. Aldwin also provides an overview of the history of stress and coping theory and measurement that serves as a good framework for the chapters in this volume.

Ellen Skinner and Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck (Chapter 3 ) focus on the concept of perceived control. Low perceived control is associated with vulnerability and helpless ways of coping at every age. Young children with low perceived control show less persistence, focus, and concentration on difficult tasks, try out less sophisticated hypothesis testing strategies, and stop working on the tasks as soon as possible and select easier future tasks. Children high in perceived control, in contrast, are oriented towards mastery of difficult tasks, which Skinner and Zimmer-Gembeck refer to as mastery-oriented coping. Skinner and Zimmer-Gembeck discuss how mastery-oriented and helpless ways of coping may change in their form across infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age; how the development of perceived control may contribute to qualitative shifts in how coping is organized as people age; and how coping itself may constitute a proximal process that shapes the development of perceived control. The authors use a multilevel approach and highlight the importance of social contexts, relationships, and partners in shaping both coping and perceived control.

Skinner and Zimmer-Gembeck distinguish three types of control: regulatory beliefs that guide actions, including coping; strategy beliefs , or generalized expectancies about the effectiveness of certain causes (such as effort, ability, powerful others, luck); and capacity beliefs , or generalized expectancies about the extent to which the self possesses or has access to potentially effective causes. The authors discuss the development of these beliefs from childhood to young adulthood. In the final section of their chapter, Skinner and Zimmer-Gembeck discuss the reciprocal relationship between perceived control and coping, noting that the ways people cope “is the grist from which perceptions of control are shaped.”

Social aspects of stress and coping

The individual who experiences stress and engages in coping does so within a complex social context. At the macro level, societal factors influence the stress process—for example, by affecting stress exposure or social expectations regarding male and female coping behavior; these gender differences can further be influenced by biology. At the micro level, stress is often interpersonal in its origin, and the subsequent coping processes between or among the involved parties are intricate and highly dynamic.

Vicki Helgeson (Chapter 4 ) asks a fundamental question: Do the harmful effects of stress differ for men and women, and if so, in what ways? She begins by exploring the sources of observed sex differences in stress, including gender differences in exposure to various types of stressors, differences in gender roles, and gender differences in the encoding and recall of stressful events. Helgeson moves on to explore gender differences in health outcomes and whether they are associated with gender differences in stress exposure or gender differences in vulnerability; she then shifts to gender differences in coping and its relationship to health. The review indicates a number of gender differences in coping, with an overall difference being that women generally report doing more of most types of coping. Helgeson highlights a challenging conundrum, namely that sex differences in coping are inherently confounded with other variables such as status, gender roles, and social roles, and that these variables also affect the relationship between coping and health.

Shelley Taylor (Chapter 5 ) explores affiliative responses to threat, which Taylor and her colleagues refer to as Tend and Befriend theory. At the heart of this theory is the assumption of a biological signaling system that is activated when the individual’s affiliations fall below an adequate level, a condition that can occur in response to stress.

An appealing characteristic of the Tend and Befriend thesis is its relevance at multiple levels of analysis. For example, affiliating with others serves to calibrate the biological stress systems that regulate responses to stress across the lifespan. It also affects the regulation of the stress response on an acute basis, and serves several practical functions with respect to stress. Taylor discusses the role of brain opioids, including oxytocin and endogenous opioids peptides, in the mitigation of separation distress. Taylor also explores possible genetic pathways that are just now being identified. Taylor returns to the social support literature and uses Tend and Befriend theory to explain the seemingly contradictory finding that having a strong social network appears to be beneficial, whereas actual support transactions are often not. She suggests the interesting hypothesis that the beneficial effects of social networks may be “a basic biopsychosocial process that depends heavily on proximity and/or awareness of others’ availability more than on the explicit social support transactions that have been so widely studied.”

Tracey Revenson and Anita DeLongis (Chapter 6 ) tackle the complex topic of dyadic coping, highlighting both societal influences and interpersonal processes. They have chosen to examine the chronic physical illness of one partner in order to understand couples coping processes more generally. Revenson and DeLongis state that dyadic coping recognizes mutuality and interdependence in coping responses to a specific shared stressor, such that couples respond to stressors as interpersonal units rather than as individuals in isolation. They review theoretical frameworks of dyadic coping, setting them in their historical context within individual stress and coping models. They turn to the empirical literature on couples coping with illness to examine which models have been supported and where there are gaps. Central to all frameworks is the influence of gender and social role on couples coping. The authors also discuss “relationship-focused coping,” cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage and sustain social relationships during stressful episodes. “Maintaining relatedness with others,” argue Revenson and DeLongis, “is a fundamental human need, as fundamental to coping as is emotion or problem management.” Relationship-focused coping involves efforts to maintain a balance between self and other, with the goal of maintaining the integrity of the marital relationship above either partner’s needs. The chapter concludes with an informative review of the current state of methodology for studying couples coping and challenges for the next generation of research.

Models of stress, coping, and positive and negative outcomes

A fascinating theme in the current literature is how people maintain well-being while they make their way through profoundly stressful situations, coping with intense distress and attending to instrumental demands. Whether early in each chapter’s discussion or towards the conclusion, the chapters in this section all call for models that address both aspects of the stress process. The fact that these models are formulated in settings that differ markedly from each other reinforces their relevance to the stress process across settings.

Stevan Hobfoll (Chapter 7 ) has developed Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, which he describes in this chapter. COR considers both the costs of stress and the processes associated with resilience, described in terms of alternating (and sometimes concurrent) cycles of resource gains and resource losses. Resources refer to those things that are universally valued, such as health, well-being, peace, family, self-preservation, and a positive sense of self. Hobfoll places great importance on environmental conditions that foster and protect the resources of individuals, families, and organizations, or that impoverish people’s resource reservoirs.

COR theory has been supported in a wide range of studies, including a program of research in Israel on the Al Aqsa Intifada and the effects of terrorism. Hobfoll makes an interesting distinction between resistance and resilience . A resistance trajectory was defined as having no more than one symptom of depression and no more than one post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptom at either of two time points. A resilience trajectory was defined as having symptoms of depression or PTS at the outset and becoming relatively free of symptoms over the period of study. A sizeable minority of study participants fell in each of these two groups. Hobfoll’s discussion of resilience centers on the concept of engagement , which is related to discussions of meaning in later chapters. He and his colleagues found that depression and engagement were not highly related, showing that people can stay committed and involved in life tasks, even in the midst of significant exposure to trauma and stressful environmental conditions. This theme, too, is relevant to discussions in later chapters. Hobfoll also reports finding post-traumatic growth positively correlated with PTS symptoms in several, although not all, studies. Hobfoll’s discussion of societal dimensions in relation to these findings is illuminating and provocative.

Margaret Stroebe (Chapter 8 ) studies bereavement. Stroebe begins by examining bereavement’s health consequences, the question of what constitutes adaptive coping, and the links between coping and health. Stroebe’s discussion illustrates the importance of critical review. In her discussion of risk factors for morbidity and mortality, she highlights fundamental methodological challenges and quagmires that can lead to erroneous conclusions; she reviews evidence that refutes convictions about desirable responses to bereavement held during the latter part of the 20th century, such as convictions that “grief work,” social sharing, emotional disclosure, and the seeking of social support are important for overcoming the impact of bereavement. She also points to evidence that challenges widely held convictions about the detrimental effects of processes such as denial, repression, and avoidance.

Stroebe includes a review of the strengths and weaknesses of theoretical models of bereavement, and concludes with a description of the Dual Process Model (DPM) she developed with her colleague, Henk Schut. The model is organized around two stress and coping themes: “Loss-orientation,” which refers to the bereaved person’s processing of some aspect of the loss experience itself, and “Restoration-orientation,” which refers to the focus on secondary stressors that are also consequences of bereavement. The model allows for full exploration of both past- and future-oriented bereavement-related coping and the processes through which people can address both stress-related harms and the restoration of their well-being. The DPM model has been translated into intervention, and results are promising. Stroebe assigns great importance to coping interventions for bereavement: “even though one cannot change the harrowing reality of the death of a loved one, it is possible to influence the ways that bereaved persons cope with and appraise their loss, and intense suffering can thereby hopefully be lessened.” This statement is broadly generalizable, as will be become evident throughout this volume.

Alex Zautra and John Reich (Chapter 9 ) describe a generic model of resilience in the face of stress that takes into account both positive and negative domains of experience. Referring to the recent interest in positive states under conditions of stress, the authors state: “This new paradigm has raised stress and coping approaches into a framework that models the extent to which personal strengths and other psychosocial resources contribute to the prediction of resilience, independent of the catalogue of risks and vulnerabilities identified within the person and his or her social network.” Zautra and Reich refer to this as a resilience model of well-being. Their model specifies three features of resilience: recovery that is swift and thorough; sustainability of purpose in the face of adversity; and growth , or new learning.

Zautra and Reich argue for the importance of assessing both positive and negative domains of life experience in order to examine the independent effects of positive events over and above the effects of stressful negative events. Zautra and Reich apply the resilience model to organizations and the neighborhood and community, creating a natural complementarity to Hobfoll’s perspective.

Michele Tugade (Chapter 10 ) continues in the dual process mode by distinguishing two distinct though interacting process models of coping. One model focuses on the intersections between positive and negative emotions, and the other model focuses on the interplay between automatic and controlled processes. Both models explore the mechanisms that promote resilience in the midst of short-term and long-term stressors in one’s life. Although the issue of automatic versus controlled processes has long been a topic of discussion in the appraisal literature (e.g., Scherer & Ellsworth, 2009 ), where the issue of the role of subconscious appraisals, or appraisals below the level of awareness, versus appraisals that can be self-reported is often debated, it is not often discussed in relation to coping as Tugade does in this chapter. For example, Tugade points out that positive affect can be activated automatically in the midst of a stressful experience, helping to downregulate the negative experience. She focuses in particular on sensory experiences that can activate positive affect, such as when the feel of warmth from a cup of tea soothes an individual, and interrupt the trajectory of the stressful episode. Tugade reports evidence for the comparative physiological benefits of automatic versus controlled emotion regulation and suggests that with practice, controlled processes can become automatic.

Sonja Lyubomirsky (Chapter 11 ) concludes this section with a theoretical model of hedonic adaptation that explains the process through which people adapt to the positive as well as negative emotional effects of situations. Lyubomirsky frames her discussion with the Hedonic Adaptation to Positive and Negative Experiences (HAPNE) model developed with her colleague, Ken Sheldon. In the HAPNE model, initial gains in well-being associated with a positive life change or drops in well-being associated with a negative life change erode over time via two separate paths. The first path specifies that the stream of positive or negative emotions resulting from the life change may lessen over time, reverting people’s happiness levels back to their baseline. The second path specifies that the stream of positive or negative events resulting from the change may shift people’s expectations about the positivity (or negativity) of their lives, such that the individual now takes for granted circumstances that used to produce happiness or is inured to circumstances that used to produce unhappiness.

According to Lyubomirsky, people can control the extent and speed of their hedonic adaptation by developing and practicing relevant skills. Using several “happiness interventions” as illustrations, Lyuobomirsky describes how effortful strategies and practices can instill new ways of thinking and behaving and thereby preserve well-being in the context of stress and trauma, producing potentially lasting increases in well-being in their absence. In an interesting segue to the next section, Lyubomirsky refers to research that shows trying to make sense of a positive event hastens adaptation; the individual can slow down the adaptation process by savoring without trying to explain it. Conversely, it is better to try to make sense out of negative events; it helps cool the negative emotions.

Coping processes and positive and negative outcomes

A logical next step is to learn more about coping processes that sustain well-being and resilience in addition to coping processes that regulate distress. The chapters in this section address both types of coping, but the emphasis is on the more recently defined arena of coping processes that sustain well-being and resilience in the face of stress. Within this arena, meaning-making has emerged as a dominant theme. The discussions review ways of conceptualizing coping in relation to meaning-making.

Crystal Park (Chapter 12 ) describes meaning in terms of global meaning (what individuals believe and desire) and situational meaning (what is happening in the stressful context). Individuals experience stress when they perceive a discrepancy between the two levels of meaning. The discrepancy motivates individuals to reconcile the discrepancy through coping processes such as modifying the situational meaning through reappraisal processes, social comparisons, goal substitutions, or problem-solving. The meaning-making process should lead to better adjustment to the extent that it produces a satisfactory product, meaning made.

Park’s review indicates the adjustment of those who try unsuccessfully to make meaning is poor compared with those who are successful in meaning-making and those who do not engage in meaning-making to begin with. However, Park states that more sophisticated research is needed, including better measurement of meaning-related constructs, improved research designs, further specification of the content of global beliefs, interpersonal aspects of meaning-making, and the use of interventions.

Kenneth Pakenham (Chapter 13 ) provides a comprehensive discussion of benefit-finding and sense-making. Benefit-finding refers to finding benefits in adversity, whereas sense-making involves the development of explanations for adversity. Pakenham’s review illustrates the many levels in which each of the meaning-based coping processes must be considered. He begins with theory, moves through measurement, observational research at the individual level, followed by research at social and community levels, and concludes with intervention. Pakenham also reviews theoretical frameworks that have specified roles for benefit-finding and sense-making. The wealth of theories illustrates the many ways in which scholars from diverse perspectives think about these aspects of meaning.

For his own research with multiple sclerosis patients, Pakenham developed theory-based multidimensional scales for sense-making and benefit-finding. While improved measurements appear to resolve certain questions, they also tend to uncover new ones. For example, Pakenham reflects on a question discussed in the literature about how we determine the validity of self-reported benefits: Are they real or are they imagined? These issues notwithstanding, Pakenham provides a highly informative review of the literature on benefit-finding and sense-making and health at the individual level, the interpersonal level, and the community level and in relation interventions.

In his fascinating discussion of religion and coping, Kenneth Pargament (Chapter 14 ) points out that although there are many parallels between the religious and non-religious coping literatures, religious coping has its own special qualities.

Pargament defines religion as “a search for significance in ways related to the sacred,” and its role in the stress process is determined by the availability of religion and perceptions that it can offer compelling solutions. Pargament defines these concepts and offers an excellent review of the relevant literatures. Although religion can be involved in every facet of the stress process, it has a particularly powerful role following crises because, Pargament observes, it offers responses to the limits of personal power, or the problem of human insufficiency. But the use of religion for coping does not always lead to improved outcomes. Pargament reviews the conditions under which religion is beneficial and when it is not. The discussion of religious struggle that can ensue when life events challenge or shatter existing beliefs is of special relevance to the whole issue of meaning-making in the face of profound stress. Pargament also includes a section on clinical interventions that integrate spirituality.

Gail Ironson and Heidemarie Kremer (Chapter 15 ) discuss many facets of the coping process within the setting of HIV/AIDS. This setting is of great interest because it represents coping with what is now a chronic, serious illness. They present a Functional Components Approach to stress and coping, which addresses three components of the stress and coping paradigm: the stressor, the self, and the reaction of the self to the stressor. This is followed by a review of the HIV coping literature organized by approach and avoidant coping, cognitive coping, coping styles, social support, and nonspecific stress-reducing activities. In their final section Ironson and Kremer provide an overview of spirituality and coping with HIV in relation to appraisal, coping, physical health, and psychological health, and they also review spiritually oriented coping interventions for people with HIV. They emphasize how spiritual coping gives the individual more options and choices about how to see and deal with stressful situations.

Carsten Wrosch (Chapter 16 ) focuses on a central aspect of meaning, goals. He notes that “goals are important because they are the building blocks that structure people’s lives and imbue life with purpose, both in the short run and on a long-term basis …goals motivate adaptive behaviors, direct patterns of life-long development, and contribute to defining a person’s identity.” But there are times goals cannot be attained, and Wrosch devotes this chapter to the important subject of the self-regulation of unattainable goals.

Wrosch’s review of theoretical models on the self-regulation of unattainable goals distinguishes two broad categories of responses: goal engagement processes through which the person continues to invest time and effort in pursuit of a threatened goal, and the exact opposite response—abandoning the threatened goal, managing the emotional consequences of failure, and engaging in other meaningful goals. Overall, the literature shows that goal disengagement and goal reengagement capacities are independent constructs. Goal disengagement capacities are associated with reduced levels of negative aspects of well-being such as negative affect or depressive symptoms, while goal reengagement capacities are more closely associated with positive aspects of subjective well-being such as positive affect or purpose in life. These two processes exemplify the two overarching themes in stress and coping research described earlier: mitigating stress-related harm and sustaining positive well-being.

Lisa Aspinwall (Chapter 17 ) discusses proactive coping, which refers to anticipating and/or detecting potential stressors and acting in advance either to prevent them altogether or to mute their impact. Proactive coping blends coping with self-regulation , the processes through which people control, direct, and correct their own actions as they move toward or away from various goals. Aspinwall reviews research in new domains of application for the proactivity concept, such as the management of stigma and discrimination, predictive genetic testing for familial disease, health promotion, and the management of chronic illness. She also describes what is known about those who undertake proactive coping efforts, what determines whether such efforts will be successful and whether and in what ways the potential for proactive coping may differ across different situations. Aspinwall also includes a review of recent developments in the study of future-oriented thinking to help understand whether, how, and with what success proactive coping efforts may be undertaken, as well as the kinds of goals that people seek to manage proactively.

Assessing coping: new technologies and concepts

The coping measures developed during the 1970s and 1980s reflected the diversity of conceptualizations of coping that characterized that period. Vaillant ( 1977 ) used qualitative analysis and clinical judgment to evaluate ego processes, with mature processes defined as coping. Miller ( 1987 ) developed a measure of a coping style, monitoring and blunting, that was an aspect of personality. Most of the other new measures approached coping contextually by asking the thoughts and behaviors people used to cope with specific stressful encounters. These measures were multidimensional, the number of dimensions and their content based in part on theory and in part on empirical factor analysis—for example, the COPE (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989 ), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler & Parker, 1990 ), the Coping Strategies Indicator (Amirkhan, 1990 ), and the Ways of Coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980 ).

It is probably safe to say that most researchers in the field of stress and coping share a frustration with the vast majority of coping assessment tools that are currently available. The chapters in this section describe advances in assessment that are responses to shortcomings in existing measures. These chapters serve as models for how to develop coping measures that produce interpretable, theoretically relevant data. (See also Pakenham, Chapter 13 , for another example.)

Annette Stanton (Chapter 18 ) observed that many of the earlier measures of emotion-focused coping were seriously flawed because they tended to confound coping with outcomes. Her response was to conceptualize Emotional Approach Coping (EAC), which addressed the confounding problem by focusing on emotion regulation in terms of two dimensions: processing emotion and expressing emotion. Stanton expended great effort in developing a valid and reliable measure of EAC and its two emotion-regulating functions, paying meticulous attention to theoretical relevance and psychometric characteristics.

Stanton used the EAC measure in a number of studies, first testing the direct effects of EAC. She and her colleagues, as well as other researchers, conducted a number of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that showed beneficial effects of emotion expression in diverse settings. The benefits of emotion processing were less obvious. Stanton then asked about the moderating effects of attributes of the individual and environment, and in a further elaboration of the model, she asked about possible pathways through which EAC might promote positive outcomes. Her chapter thus illustrates the full developmental process, from diagnosis of the weaknesses of available measures, to the careful development and application of a new measure in studies of direct effects, which lead to further elaboration of moderators and mediating pathways of the underlying theoretical model.

Mark Litt, Howard Tennen, and Glenn Affleck (Chapter 19 ) take on a very different measurement challenge: capturing the dynamic quality of coping. They point out that although coping was initially construed as dynamic and transactional in nature, most models of coping have been unidirectional and have treated coping as a static outcome of the constituent factors. The authors provide an incisive review of diverse approaches to the assessment of coping, distinguishing clearly among methodologies and enumerating their limitations. The review highlights the dearth of attempts to assess the transactional nature of the stress process in which each variable influences the other: appraisal and coping influence outcomes that in turn influence subsequent appraisals and coping. But new technologies for daily and momentary assessment, allied with multilevel statistical techniques, now allow a more detailed understanding of how coping works. The authors describe several promising applications of near-real-time ambulatory assessment and intensive micro-longitudinal study designs, including novel applications in the areas of gene–stress interactions and coping vulnerability and resilience as “behavioral signatures.” The authors then move on to discuss the adaptation of intensive measurement of coping to understanding mechanisms of treatment. Drawing on interventions in the contexts of addiction and pain, the authors review studies that test the effects of coping interventions on coping skills and the relationships between coping skills and outcomes. The issues that can be addressed with the methodologies that Litt et al. summarize are at the center of questions about the actual role of coping in the stress process.

Coping interventions

Ultimately, research should lead to clinical interventions that help people manage stress and improve their well-being. The chapters in this section provide examples of theory-based interventions that illustrate the translation from theory and research into practice, and the daunting complexity involved in understanding what transpires during a coping skills intervention and how it affects outcomes.

Judith Tedlie Moskowitz (Chapter 20 ) offers a comprehensive review of coping interventions that emphasize the regulation of positive affect. The deliberate manipulation through intervention will be key to determining whether positive states actually are protective during periods of stress. This chapter is a valuable resource for researchers who want to pursue this line of inquiry. The substantial array of interventions Moskowitz reviews is evidence of the recent heightened interest in positive states during stress, also reflected in a number of chapters in this volume (e.g., Hobfoll, Chapter 7 ; Zautra and Reich, Chapter 9 ; Tugade, Chapter 10 ; Park, Chapter 12 ; Pakenham, Chapter 13 ; Pargament, Chapter 14 ). Moskowitz discusses single-component and multicomponent interventions. Examples of components include positive events and savoring, acts of kindness, positive reappraisal, setting attainable goals, focusing on personal strengths, loving-kindness meditations, forgiveness, and laughter. Moskowitz clarifies issues regarding measurement of affect, with special attention to high- versus low-activation affects, and discusses design issues that need to be addressed in future studies. Overall, it appears that the positive coping interventions do foster well-being and are acceptable to participants.

Michael Antoni (Chapter 21 ) studies stress, coping, and coping intervention in the context of HIV/AIDS. As noted earlier with respect to the chapter by Ironson and Kremer, stress and coping processes are pertinent throughout the course of HIV disease. For example, the initial transmission of HIV is through behaviors that are often maladaptive responses to stress; stress affects the compromised immune system; stress is caused by treatment side effects; and there is interpersonal stress associated with disclosure of an HIV-positive serostatus. Antoni’s group developed CBSM, a 10-week, group-based stress-management program that combines anxiety-reduction techniques with cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBT) to help manage the stress associated with HIV disease. Antoni uses this intervention to examine psychosocial and biobehavioral mechanisms that can explain the effects of stress and coping interventions on health outcomes in persons with HIV. Studies of CBSM, and findings from other CBT-based interventions, show improved mental health outcomes in persons with HIV. Further, participants in CBT-based interventions who show psychological effects also demonstrate changes in endocrine and immunological parameters. Antoni’s discussion illustrates the benefits of working with a clinical condition that is well characterized at multiple levels of analysis, and of having a truly interdisciplinary approach to investigating the effects of interventions on diverse pathways through which stress and coping can affect health.

In Chapter 22 , I synthesize findings, offer my own opinions, and suggest where researchers might want to focus their attention next.

The chapters in this volume address diverse aspects of the stress process, from antecedents of stress appraisals to the health-related outcomes of coping. The authors are leading researchers in the field, and the perspectives they share are expansive and well informed. The voices of the authors are varied, but the content forms a coherent narrative about stress, health, and coping punctuated with fascinating questions waiting to be addressed.

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