ABSTRACT
Stress is an integral part of the natural fabric of life, and coping with stress is an everyday requirement for normal human growth and development. Hurricanes, floods and wars are examples of catastrophic stressors that exert tremendous pressures on large masses of people. Anxiety has been recognized as a central problem and a predominant theme of modern life, as was noted by the French author, Albert Camus, who referred to the 20th century as “The Century of Fear.” The importance of anxiety (fear) was clearly recognized by Charles Darwin, who considered this emotion to be a product of evolution in both humans and animals. Both fear and rage were recognized by Darwin as universal characteristics of both humans and animals that evolved through a process of natural selection because these emotions facilitated successful adaptation and survival. The research of Freidman and Rosenman has stimulated the scientific study of nonphysical risk factors in heart disease.
