Different Types of Stress
by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger
29 Mar 2008 11:37 AM
Stress isn't just stress. Researchers have identified several different kinds of stress!
Stress can be divided into two basic categories: short term stress and long term stress. Each of these categories can be further broken down into different types.
Types of short term stress include:
- Acute time-limited stressors come on suddenly (acute) and are over relatively quickly. Situations like public speaking and doing math in your head fall into this category. These things may come on without warning but are short in duration.
- Brief naturalistic stressors are similar -- they are relatively short in duration. Think of a classroom test or a final exam. These are stresses that rise out of other things (like a course of study) and are over quickly.
Types of long term stress include:
- Stressful event sequences -- a single event starts a chain of challenging situations. For example, losing a job or surviving a natural disaster. This is a long term stress that comes with the potential for an end. There is eventually a light at the end of the tunnel!
- Chronic stressors lack a clear end point. Often they force people to assume new roles or change their self-perception. Think of a refugee leaving their native country or an injury leading to permanent disability. These are life-changing events -- you rarely get to go back to the way things were.
- Distant stressors may have been initiated in the past (like childhood abuse or trauma resulting from combat experiences) but continue to effect the immune system. Distant stressors have long-lasting effects on emotional and mental health.
Different types of stress can further be divided by the type of event that initiates the stress -- for example, grief or trauma or injury. The initiating event can have an impact on the immune system response to the stress.
