Definitions of Stress
There are several definitions of stress. It seems that it is like most things in our world today. People and organizations want to come up with something original to be able to claim theirs is the true definition of stress. I don’t want to recreate the wheel. We’ve got toooooo many wheels in our world today, so I’ll share what others have said.
Hans Selye, an endocrinologist, in the 1930s was the first one to use the term “stress” when relating to behaviors either of animals or humans. He studied the reactions of laboratory animals to outside stimuli, such as bright lights and noise. Later he expanded his studies to include the perceptions and responses of humans in trying to adapt to the challenges of everyday life situations.
His definition of stress is “The non-specific response of the body to any demand placed on it.” The Mayo Clinic defines stress as “A normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life.” The American Institute of Stress explains that it’s difficult to define stress because it means something different to different people, and no one wants to settle for one specific definitioin.
Me? I like Hans Selye’s definition. Non-specific says it all for me. It allows for the fact that not all of us react the same way to the same situation. What is stressful for one person may not be stressful for someone else. In fact, the same person may react differently to the same stressful situation at different times. Human behavior is not an exact science.
That definition also allows for different “non-specific” responses—they could be physical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual.
Up until the 1930s, stress was used for centuries in the field of physics to explain elasticity—the ability of a material to return to its original size after being compressed or stretched by an external force. I can remember the discussion in high school physics class as to whether a rubber band returned to its original shape after being stretched out. Something similar would be the stress put on a piece of metal. A piece of jewelry will break when too much stress is put upon it, like a chain breaking when a child pulls on it.
When we discuss stress in these posts, we’ll be using Hans Selye’s definition of stress. Other writers may come into discussion as well.
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Blessings,
Karen
Comments
Selye was not the first one to use the term stress in living organisms. Psychologists had already used the term stress in the 19th. Century.
William James the distinguished MD and Psychologist, who died 3 years after the birth of Hans Selye said:”The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
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