It's How You Perceive a Situation That Makes It Stressful Often, researchers define stress as the psychological and physiological conditions that a person experiences when they perceive a situation as threatening, harmful, or demanding. This means that whenever we experience a change in our environment, we may experience stress. Whether we do or not depends on how we perceive the event. So what is stressful for one person might not be for another. Many factors influence how you interpret events including: Who you are Your attitudes Your skills Your personality The current situation Other events in your life Other people in your life

Stress isn't all bad! Having some stress in your life is a good thing-- it keeps your body and mind active and more alert. It becomes harmful when you have too much stress (i.e., more than you can cope with).