Behavioral Endocrinology

Abstract

As with sex, everyone believes they know about stress. But the concept of stress is an unsatisfactory one in several ways. It has always been difficult to define, and the problem of definition, even today, occupies a central position on the opening day of most conferences on the subject. A stress for one person, for example, getting married with its attendant anxieties, may be a pleasant, even joyful, experience for another. Consider the prospect of addressing a large audience: easy for some, anxiety-provoking and very stressful for others. Anything causing stress is termed a stressor, but whether or not a stressor turns out actually to be one depends entirely on the reaction created in the mind and body of the individual. So the term stress is often used sloppily, referring partly to stimulus situations and partly to the bodily responses caused by the stimulus.