Feelings of uselessness and helplessness often accompany a chronic level of stress. Individuals may drink more coffee, smoke more than usual, drink more alcohol or use more drugs, both prescription and illegal, as they attempt to make the negative feelings go away. Adequate sleep does not eliminate tiredness. Individuals become forgetful and accident prone, not helpful characteristics for people in charge of the safety of young children. The best way to prevent burnout is to understand the role stress plays in our lives and to develop a personal plan for coping.
Threats can come from physical, emotional and environmental sources .
Individual perception plays a major role in what we find stressful. Some people become very stressed when giving a speech, attending a party or trying a new activity. Another person might find these same situations exciting and challenging. Individuals differ greatly not only in what types of situations they find stressful but also in how much stress they are comfortable with. Most people think the goal is to completely eliminate stress from their lives.