Stress- Causes, Effects and Treatments What is Stress? Stress is the strains put on us throughout our lives by work, family, friends and just general living. When a person is stressed, it means that the strains put on them have become too much for their body and mind to handle, and they begin to have some of the many side affects, mentally and physically, of being too stressed. There are two types of stress, good stress or Eustress and bad stress or Distress. Eustress can help us to perform better in our lives but when the stress becomes too much, it becomes distress, and will bring out our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This picture shows the different types of stress. Causes The cause of stress can be from something as small as a rude comment from a work colleague or as big as a death of a family member or good friend. It can also be from things like work stresses, school stresses, financial problems etc. When the stresses get to be too much, it starts to have an ill effect on our body. Effects There are many side effects of stress, whether it be mental or physical. This diagram shows that stress can have a very severe effect on our bodies. There are three stages that our bodies go through when it reacts to stress. These are: The alarm reaction, The stage of resistance, and finally, the stage of exhaustion. This is known as G.A.S or General Adaptation Syndrome. The alarm reaction is also known as the “Fight or Flight” response. It is the stage where the heart, lungs, brain, nervous system and muscles get ready to meet the threat that is coming and decide whether to ‘fight’ or ‘run away’. When this happens the body releases adrenaline, noradrenalin, endorphins, cortisol, thyroxin and, in males, testosterone. Then the stage of resistence comes and the body returns close to its normal state. After that the body goes into the stage of exhaustion. This causes emotions like anger, anxiety and impatience and t...