A stressor is an internal or external stimulus, condition, or event that challenges or disrupts an organism‘s normal state of balance and can trigger a stress response.
Stressors can be physical, chemical, psychological, biological, or environmental.
Examples include extreme temperatures, infection, illness, injury, noise, lack of sleep, psychological pressure, toxins, or significant changes in the environment.
The same factor may be a stressor in one situation but have little effect in another. Similarly, the same stressor can produce different responses in different people or under different circumstances.
A stressor is not the same thing as the stress response. The stressor is the challenge or trigger; the body’s or mind’s response is stress.
QUICK FACT
A stressor does not have to be harmful by itself. The body’s response depends partly on the type, intensity, duration, and context of the stressor.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Stress response: the body’s physiological and psychological reaction to a stressor.
- Stress: a broader term that can refer to the stressor, the response, or the overall experience depending on context.
SEE ALSO
