ABSTRACT
The need to adapt to changes in our life can be a major source of stress. Viewing stress as a passive response to events around us ignores the fact that most of the time we are active participators in those events. Stress results from an interaction between physiological, psychological, and environmental processes. Stress and stress-related changes may be viewed as a psychological response, or adjustment, to life changes. The transactional view describes stress in terms of the interplay between the person and environmental variables, making use of the concepts of primary and secondary cognitive appraisal, and coping. There are effects of stress on health apart from those that are mediated by physiological processes. Behavioral consequences of stress may include poor concentration, slowed reaction times, and poor physical coordination and in dangerous or unforgiving conditions these can result in actions having unintended outcomes. Individuals manage stress by employing coping processes.
