Excessive amounts of stress, however, can increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks, ulcers, and mental illnesses such as depression[2] and also aggravate pre-existing conditions.

Researchers have found that stressors can make individuals more prone to both physical and psychological problems, including heart disease and anxiety.

[10] Examples of crises and catastrophes include: devastating natural disasters, such as major floods or earthquakes, wars, pandemics, etc.

Though rare in occurrence, this type of stressor typically causes a great deal of stress in a person's life.

A study conducted by Stanford University found that after natural disasters, those affected experienced a significant increase in stress level.

Prevention requires stress reduction, emphasis on vehicle and other identification training, awareness of the tactical situation, and continual risk analysis by leaders at all levels.

[13] Common examples of major life events include: marriage, going to college, death of a loved one, birth of a child, divorce, moving houses, etc.

[10] Examples include: making decisions, meeting deadlines at work or school, traffic jams, encounters with irritating personalities, etc.

66 years at the time of first stress assessment) at the Oregon State University that examined the perceived intensity of daily hassles on an individual's mortality.

Aldwin's study concluded that there is a strong correlation between individuals who rate their hassles as very intense and a high level of mortality.

They are defined as stressors that are "chronic, negatively valued, non-urgent, physically perceptible, and intractable to the efforts of individuals to change them".

[20] Studies conducted in military and combat fields show that some of the most potent stressors can be due to personal organisational problems in the unit or on the home front.

[64] Chronic stress and a lack of coping resources available or used by an individual can often lead to the development of psychological issues such as depression and anxiety.

These types of stressors tend to have a more negative impact on health because they are sustained and thus require the body's physiological response to occur daily.

This depletes the body's energy more quickly and usually occurs over long periods of time, especially when such microstressors cannot be avoided (for example: stress related to living in a dangerous neighborhood).

For example, studies have found that caregivers, particularly those of dementia patients, have higher levels of depression and slightly worse physical health than non-caregivers.

[66] Studies have also shown that perceived chronic stress and the hostility associated with Type A personalities are often correlated with much higher risks of cardiovascular disease.

[72][73] For example, when humans are under chronic stress, permanent changes in their physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses are most likely to occur.

People may feel uncomfortable with the difficulties caused by differences in syntax, vocabulary, ways of showing respect, and use of body language.

[77] Researchers have long been interested in how an individual's level and types of social support impact the effect of stress on their health.

Studies have found that those who had a large change in their life with a small amount of social support has a higher chance of complications.

A number of self-help approaches to stress-prevention and resilience-building have been developed, drawing mainly on the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

A randomized study by Sutarto et al. assessed the effect of resonant breathing biofeedback (recognize and control involuntary heart rate variability) among manufacturing operators; depression, anxiety and stress significantly decreased.

The Lazarus and Folkman model suggests that external events create a form of pressure to achieve, engage in, or experience a stressful situation.

However, people have a tendency to respond to threats with a predominant coping style, in which they dismiss feelings, or manipulate the stressful situation.

[91] These skills are what one could call as “facing the problem head on”, or at least dealing with the negative emotions experienced by stress in a constructive manner.

These mechanisms cause the individual to have a diminished (or in some cases non-existent) awareness about their anxiety, threatening ideas, fears, etc., that come from being conscious of the perceived threat.

Suggested strategies to improve stress management include:[101] Depending on the situation, all of these coping mechanisms may be adaptive, or maladaptive.

Prior to the introduction of the concept "stress" in the psychological sense c. 1955,[102][103] people already identified a range of more nuanced ideas to describe and confront such emotions as worry, grief, concern,[104] obsession, fear, annoyance, anxiety, distress, suffering and passion.

[105] By the 19th century, the popularisation of the nascent science of neurology made it possible to group some undifferentiated combination of one or more of these with an informal diagnosis such as "nerve strain".