Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, RMT, edited by C. E. Zupanick, Psy.D.
Here is a definition of stress offered by the American Psychological Association:
“Stress is the pattern of specific and nonspecific responses an organism makes to stimulus events that disturb its equilibrium and tax or exceed its ability to cope.”
In other words, stress is anything life brings our way that has the potential to upset our balance. Thus, traumatic experiences are always stressful, but stressors are not always traumatic.”
“People are negatively affected by stress when they have not developed a stable set of strategies for coping with stressors. Many teachers of mindfulness meditation suggest that stress is an inevitable part of the human experience. However, when we learn to respond to stress instead of reacting to it, we are less likely to be plagued by problematic symptoms. For individuals with unhealed emotional traumas, what might seem like mild ordinary stressors of everyday life, may bring about an avalanche of emotions and functional impairment because their coping resources are already maxed out dealing with the invisible emotional wounds of trauma.”
Courtesy of Cascade Mental Health Center. See www.cascadementalhealth.org for more valuable articles.
