Stressors are situations or events that cause us to feel stressed. They can be internal or external factors, such as our memories, environment, or the people around us. Stressors can be categorized into two broad categories: physiological (or physical) stressors and psychological stressors.

• Physiological (or physical) stressors: These are stressors that put strain on our body, such as very cold/hot temperatures, injury, chronic illness, or pain.

• Psychological stressors: These are events, situations, individuals, comments, or anything we interpret as negative or threatening, such as not being able to find a babysitter for your sick child when you cannot take time off work.

Stressors can be absolute or relative. Absolute stressors are objective stressors that are universal, such as earthquakes, a tsunami, or the events of September 11th, 2001. Relative stressors are subjective stressors that cause different reactions in different people, such as time pressure at work, traffic, paying taxes, or writing an exam.

Stress responses evolved as adaptive processes, but severe, prolonged stress responses might lead to tissue damage and disease. The nature, number, and persistence of the stressors, as well as the individuals biological vulnerability and learned patterns of coping, affect the stress response.

Identifying the sources of stress and how they impact us is the first step to addressing and mitigating stressors. Learning about all types of stress and how to fight them can help us combat stressors.