Everyone feels stressed from time to time. Not all stress is bad. All animals have a stress response, and it can be life-saving. But chronic stress can cause both physical and mental harm. There are at least three different types of stress, including routine stress, stress brought about by a sudden negative change, traumatic stress. Different people may feel stress in different ways. Some people cope with stress more effectively than others. It's important to know your limits when it comes to stress, so you can avoid more serious health effects. - Excerpted from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Stress
Stress is the complex interaction between the events of life and the perception of those events by an individual. Everyone experiences stress and everyone learns either to cope with the stress or not. Learn more...
Stress Matters
Not all stress is bad. Just enough stress keeps you focused and helps you to perform your best, such as the stress you might feel before speaking in front of a group of people. It also can prompt you to change a situation for the better, such as leaving a dead-end job. But any stress can affect your health. Learn more...
Acute Stress Disorder
Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is a psychiatric diagnosis and the current diagnostic criteria for ASD are similar to the criteria for PTSD. However, the criteria for ASD contain a greater emphasis on dissociative symptoms and the diagnosis can only be given within the first month after a traumatic event. Learn more...
What Is Child Traumatic Stress?
From a psychological perspective, trauma occurs when a child experiences an intense event that threatens or causes harm to his or her emotional and physical well-being. Learn more...
Stress and Young Children
This article discusses how children experience and adapt to stress, and offers suggestions to teachers and parents on preventing and reducing children's stress. Learn more...
Stress and Your Health
Stress can arise for a variety of reasons. Stress can be brought about by a traumatic accident, death, or emergency situation. Stress can also be a side effect of a serious illness or disease. There is also stress associated with daily life, the workplace, and family responsibilities. Learn more...
Caregiver Stress
As the U.S. population ages, more people are faced with the responsibility of caring for elderly loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, or other health problems. Many parents are also raising children with severe disabilities at home. More often today, these caregivers are continuing to care for children with disabilities well into their adulthood. Learn more...
Survivors of Natural Disasters and Mass Violence
Every year, millions of people are affected by both mass violence and natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornados, and wildfires. Survivors face the danger of death or physical injury and the possible loss of their homes, possessions, and communities. Such stressors place survivors at risk for behavioral and emotional readjustment problems. Learn more...
ADHD: Can Your Children Drive You To Drink?
This article first reviews the relationship between childhood behavior problems and subsequent adult drinking behavior, and then explores the effects of child behavior on parental drinking. Learn more...
When the Going Gets Tough, Do You Crave Comfort Foods?
Stress can trigger emotional eating cravings that have nothing to do with hunger. When the going gets tough, you may tend to crave comfort foods that you remember fondly from your youth. Learn more...
Answers to Common Questions about Counseling
Throughout life, there are times when help is needed to address problems and issues that cause emotional distress or make us feel overwhelmed. When experiencing these types of difficulties, individuals may benefit from the assistance of an experienced, trained professional. Learn more...
Clinical Hypnosis: Understanding Clinical Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis is a method of communication that induces a trance or a trance-like state. Hypnosis can be conducted by one individual addressing another, or it may be conducted with the self (self-hypnosis). Trance is a naturally occurring state in which one's attention is narrowly focused and relatively free of distractions. Examples of trance states are daydreaming and some forms of meditation. Learn more...