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Lecture Notes

You can see in this figure the flow of stressors and coping that can lead to harmful behaviors and psychological and physiological symptoms if the stressor is not appropriately managed, if you don't appropriately deal with the stressors in your lives. And the signs of hyperstress, or chronic stress, that are listed here on the slide, including turning to drugs or alcohol, anxiety, headaches, ulcer, etc.—there are many more—occur if someone has a strong reaction to a stressor (or in this case listed on the slide as an activator) and then they have unsuccessful coping, or they're unable to deal with this stressor. And it's important to note, again, that we're talking about our response to the stressor, not the actual stressor that determines this reaction, which is both physiological and psychological. In other words, what I consider to be a stressor may or may not be a stressor for you or someone else, and so what we perceive as stressful may also change as we age or as we have more life experiences.