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Medicine LibreTexts

10: Stress

  • Page ID
    151565
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    By Jonathan Howard

    Learning Objectives
    • Define stress
    • Describe the effects of stress on wellbeing
    • Identify effective strategies for managing stress
    • Assess your own levels of stress

    In today’s fast-paced society, most people complain about being stressed. However, when they use the term stress, they rarely know its true meaning. The word carries many negative connotations and is associated with an unpleasant or traumatic event. As such, people mistakenly believe that stress is simply the nervousness and tension experienced prior to, during, or after a negative event. In fact, the effects of stress are physiological, emotional, and psychological. Additionally, not all levels of stress are detrimental. The stress athletes experience right before a big game or college students feel right before an exam can enhance focus and increase their ability to concentrate. Stress is either good or bad depending on how long it persists and how it is perceived by the individual. This chapter will provide a deeper understanding of what stress is and provide effective strategies for managing stress.

    • 10.1: What is Stress and How Does it Affect Wellness?
      Stress is defined as the body’s physical, mental, and emotional response to a particular stimulus, called a stressor. This adaption/coping-response helps the body prepare for challenging situations. It is the level of a person’s response to a stressor that determines whether the experience is positive or negative. As a hardworking college student, you may feel as if you know the meaning of stress all too well.
    • 10.2: What Are the Strategies for Managing Stress?
      This page outlines effective strategies for managing everyday stress, as suggested by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Key recommendations include taking time-outs, maintaining a balanced diet, limiting alcohol and caffeine, ensuring adequate sleep, exercising regularly, and using relaxation techniques.
    • 10.3: Assess Your Stress Level
      This page highlights an online stress test, inviting readers to evaluate their stress levels against their peers through a quiz titled "Are You Stressed?" It underscores the necessity of securing and submitting a PDF of the results for lab work pertaining to the chapter on stress.

    Thumbnail: Anxiety by Munch.


    This page titled 10: Stress is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Scott Flynn, Jonathan Howard, Lisa Jellum, and Althea Moser (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.