When we talk about stress, there are necessarily the following three elements, arranged in extremely variable combinations:

L’stressor, or its source: a physical, mental, social or emotional stimulus arises to which one must adjust. The stimulus can be minor (ticket) or significant (move), positive (a marriage) or negative (a conflict), exceptional (a surgery) or constant (an overly busy schedule), planned (an exam) or unexpected (a accident), etc. It should also be noted that stress can be physiological, and caused by events such as a drug, an injury or a cold snap, since the body must modify its chemistry to react to it. Lack of stimulation can also create stress. But we are mainly concerned today with stress related to lifestyle and more particularly psychological stress.  

La stress reaction. When the brain sounds the alarm, immediate physiological reactions – like increased heart rate, constricted blood vessels, and adrenaline rush – ensure that the body can respond to the situation. If they persist beyond the time necessary to “run away from the tiger or stun it”, these mechanisms give rise to physical and psychological ailments: the symptoms of stress.

L’attitude. The intensity of the stress reaction depends on the message sent by the brain to the endocrine glands, and therefore on the perception what is the spirit of the stimulus in question – seeing it as more or less dangerous, demanding or constraining. For example: a five minute delay usually does not create stress unless we think we are going to miss the train, or if the brain imagines another catastrophic scenario – which can be the case if our upbringing has ferociously trained us. punctuality. A negative attitude or unrealistic expectations also lead to stress problems.

In short, stress is a reflex reaction, both psychological and physiological, of the body when faced with a difficult situation which requires adaptation.

This is a lot thanks to the work of the Canadian endocrinologist of Austrian origin Hans Selye, carried out during the XX^e century, that we understand the biological mechanisms of stress – what he first called the “general adaptation syndrome”. He identified and defined the famous ” fight or flight response “: What happens when the organism monopolizes its resources to dominate the situation or to escape it. It is also to Selye that we owe the choice of the word stress (in English: mechanical tension) and to have imposed it in French. He called good stress “eustress” and bad “distress”.

Subsequently, the French biologist Henri Laborit studied what happens when the person can neither dominate the situation nor run away from it: what he called the “inhibition of action”. This “situational paralysis”, he demonstrated, precisely leads to neuro-psycho-immulogic disorders. Laborit is also famous for having praised the flight, which would be a refocusing of our objectives in order to save our skin … from the inside. As for the American Richard Lazarus, we owe him important studies on psychological stress and on the effectiveness of the means that people adopt to cope with it (coping).

Since the 1960s, thousands of research studies have been carried out in different sectors (immunology, oncology, neuropsychology, etc.) on the multiple factors involved in each phase of stress, and on the impacts of stress on health. . However, there is still much to discover, especially on the links between the mind and the brain, that is to say between psychology and physiology.

We tend to ignore it, but stress reactions are normal and helpful. In many circumstances, we therefore speak of “good stress”. We know, for example, that the level of performance at the time of a task is better when there is a certain amount of stress, because this would make it possible to stimulate motivation, to better judge the parameters of the situation and to prepare accordingly. Many people, by the way, like this excitement of stress and seek it out – in competition, for example.

In others, less fortunate, the stress reactions are so intense or so long-lasting, even in common situations, that it interferes with their social and professional functioning. And in some, the nervous system is slow to trigger the necessary relaxation reaction, even after the disappearance of the stressor.

In short, there are “tolerant” to stress and “intolerant”, but we could also define a third category of people: “adrenaline junkies”. They are hard workers, workaholics, people with an intense social life who run incessantly, but who would not want to be without stress, because it makes them feel “alive”. However, this risk of catching up with them in the turning point, as evidenced by the frequency of cardiovascular disease in this type of people. Note, however, that stress does not depend on the intensity of the action, but on that of the tension – since there are very active people who are also very relaxed while people who are not very active can be very tense.

Stress therefore manifests itself in different ways depending on the personality, and the solutions also vary depending on the person. Note that children and adolescents are also subject to stress, which can be generated by situations at home, at school or between classmates.

When the symptoms caused by stress reactions are so intense that they temporarily interfere with normal occupations, we talk about acute stress. This problem can manifest itself after a traumatic event (the death of a loved one, an accident, a financial loss, etc.), or in the expectation of a very destabilizing event. By definition, acute discomfort is temporary, but it can repeat itself with some frequency.

Le chronic stress, on the other hand, is a permanent state for which we know several causes:

– an anxious personality which makes it particularly sensitive to stressors;

– a difficult and persistent situation that the person cannot change or escape: precarious employment, insufficient income for financial responsibilities, harassment from a superior, the responsibility of a sick parent, a difficult child, a conflictual or unstable couple relationship, etc .;

– several stressful situations which overlap in time.

People with chronic stress are not always aware of it, or think there is nothing they can do. They can also suffer, from time to time, from acute stress attacks.

As we know, what is considered “stressful” varies enormously from person to person. However, there are certain situations that stress most people; this would be the case, in particular, of pregnancy, the education of children, the difficulty of reconciling work and family, retirement and social isolation.