| One of the most useful definitions of stress is as | | | | appear as fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, |
| follows: Stress is an internal process that occurs | | | | medical and physical problems, insomnia, depression, |
| when a person is faced with a demand that is | | | | anxiety, over eating, drug and alcohol abuse, risk |
| perceived to exceed the resources available to | | | | taking, or diminished functioning, to name a few of |
| effectively respond to it, and where failure to | | | | the possibilities. Stress can be positive and negative. |
| effectively deal with the demand has important | | | | On the positive side it alerts us to a threat and |
| undesirable consequences. In other words, stress is | | | | increases our level of arousal and activation which can |
| experienced when there is an awareness of a | | | | help us be more effective in coping with the threat. |
| substantial imbalance between demand and capability, | | | | It is mismanaged stress or an over-abundance of |
| under conditions where failure to meet the demand is | | | | stress which causes strain and can be devastating |
| perceived to have unwanted consequences. | | | | for the person or the system. |
| Strain is the negative effects of stress. Strain may | | | | |