Interventions are activities designed to block a stressor from resulting in negative consequences such as illness or disease. Stress management consists of the use of these interventions.
Stress begins with a life situation that knocks you out of balance. However, for the stress response to develop, this situation has to be perceived and cognitively appraised as distressing.
When life situations are perceived and cognitively appraised as distressing, emotional reactions such as fear, anger, and insecurity develop. These emotional reactions then lead to physiological arousal.
Physiological arousal that is chronic or prolonged can lead to negative consequences such as illness or disease, poor performance, and impaired interpersonal relationships.
Stress management involves "setting up roadblocks" on the road leading from life situations through perception, emotional arousal, and physiological arousal and ending at negative consequences.
Incomplete stress management programs teach only one or a few stress management skills. Comprehensive programs teach means of intervening at each level of the stress model.
Stress that leads to positive consequences is called eustress. Eustress involves change that still requires adaptation but is growth producing and welcome. A test can be an example of a eustressor when concern for a good grade results in your studying and learning more.
You are in much greater control of yourself than you have ever realized. Managing stress is really just exercising that control, rather than giving it up to others or to your environment.
