We experience stress as the body adjusts to the external demands placed upon it. Our body constantly seeks to maintain stability and stress is usually sensed as the body readjusts to too much pressure. Stress disturbs homeostasis by creating a state of imbalance. The source of stress may be outside the body or it may originate from within the body in the form of blood pressure, pain, tumours or disturbing thoughts. The clown stays upright because of a heavy base that will always restore the toy to a vertical position.
Stress is the tension that the body exerts as it seeks to return to a steady-state.
Our ability to cope with stressors often determines the amount of stress that we will experience. The graphs in Fig. 1 show two ways of coping with stress. One is called the Healthy Pattern, the other the Hazardous Pattern. The vertical line on the left represents two extremes.