It has always puzzled observers that some families ride out floods or disasters or financial difficulties without serious ill effects, whereas other families facing the same circumstances become disorganized or are even destroyed. The clue to understanding this difference resides in the fact that stress does not result simply from some negative circumstance. It is rather the interplay of several variables which largely determines what happens to a person or family when stressors or problems are encountered. I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't believed it. The above statement captures the essence and significance of perception as a force in human behavior.
Human beings do more than merely sense their world through sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell.
First, there must be an event or situation which is perceived by the mind as undesirable or threatening. The threat can come from an external source, such as a warning about an overdue debt or a physical danger, or it can be a pain within the body. The threat can be real or imagined. Whether the stressor is real or not, the body's stress response is always real. Sometimes people have severe stress reactions to imagined stressors.