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At the onset stage of the stress process, you perceive some external source (later to be called a "stressor") as threatening, which, then, triggers the stress process. What is important to be understood at this point, however, is that "things" and "events" in your lives - of themselves - do not cause stress. Instead, it is your perception or view of these things and events that determines whether stress occurs. EXAMPLE: Missing a plane at the airport, failing a course in school, having a bothersome boss at work, and your car breaking down on the road, all do not automatically cause you stress. Instead, it is your perceptions, i.e., the meaning you give to these events, that cause them to become stressors, and in turn these stressors can lead to your experiencing stress. Event Perception Response Events are essentially "neutral" - maybe to some extent even nonexistent - without the presence of our minds to perceive them and give them meaning. As shown above, perception is the very important link between the event and our ultimate response. Events or things are what we make them. With this point in mind, stress exists, for the most part, primarily because we make it happen. Once you perceive demands related to either a single or several sources as stressors (e.g., conflicts with others; unrealistic expectations you have for yourself; heavy workloads; finance obligations you cannot keep), and you repeatedly fail to "cope" (i.e., the demands of the source(s) exceed your available resource capabilities) with the perceived threat, the second stage of the process becomes activated - reaction . Depending on your available resources, you may choose to engage in one of several possible actions, i.e., ignoring, fighting, fleeing or solving the problem. Depending on the outcome of these actions, your body may, then, become physiologically aroused. Therefore, as the name suggests, in the reaction stage of the stress process, your body reacts by showing certain telltale signs and symptoms of being activated, and it is at this stage that stress actually occurs. As time goes on and, for whatever reason, you continue to fail to cope with the threatening source or stressor(s) in your environment, it is likely that you will experience delayed, unbroken, or chronic stress. Following such an experience, the last stage of the process is, then, very likely to become activated - effect. or outcome. At this stage, you are likely to begin experiencing several possible dysfunctional outcomes or consequences. Depending on your unique (physical and mental) composition and circumstances, these consequences could manifest themselves as mental (i.e., thinking), emotional (i.e., feeling), behavioral and/or physical reactions. Again, depending on the circumstances involved, these reactions may appear mild at first, but increase in their frequency and severity as the stressors persist, over time.
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