Measuring Stress is a Matter of Perception
July 16, 2009
No matter what you learn about stress, there remains one critical fact to keep in mind. Above all, stress is a disorder of perception.
It is not the actual degree of stress that determines its impact on health and well-being, but the perceived degree. What is stressful to one person may be ho-hum or even energizing to another.
There are obvious limits here, at least for most of us. Put someone in combat or in a persistently and intensely abusive situation, and the power of perception to create a positive spin substantially diminishes.
Nonetheless, there is evidence that, even in extreme circumstances, some folks fare far better than most. Their “secret” appears to be the capacity to mentally reframe what is happening around them into a less vile and more manageable scenario.
By Philip Chard (redorbit)
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