{"id":68678,"date":"2022-06-19T16:28:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-19T20:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=68678"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:47:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:47:40","slug":"what-are-the-main-causes-of-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-are-the-main-causes-of-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Main Causes of Stress?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the main causes of stress? What is the difference between acute and chronic stress<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9, stress is the body’s response to a threat. There are two kinds of stress: acute and chronic stress<\/a>, which have different triggers and effects on the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn about the causes of stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0Shortform\u2019s guide to stress<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress Is a Response to Threat<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What are the main causes of stress? Stress is a reaction triggered by a threat, which can be real or perceived. As Dr. Mat\u00e9 describes, a threat must be perceived and interpreted first by the mind, which then sends signals to the body\u2019s systems for a response. <\/em>Threats can be a multitude of specific things, but the common element is <\/em>your mind\u2019s perception of the lack (or potential loss of) something necessary for survival.<\/strong> <\/em>This could be anything from food or shelter to love and connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mat\u00e9, the situational factors that trigger stress are: \u201c<\/strong>uncertainty, conflict, lack of information, and loss of control<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the brain perceives \u201cuncertainty, conflict, lack of information, or loss of control,\u201d it activates the threat response, which means the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands (\u201cHPA Axis\u201d) secrete hormones, including cortisol. <\/em>Cortisol is the body\u2019s anti-inflammatory, Mat\u00e9 explains. Inflammation happens throughout the body in response to a threat, and then cortisol resolves it by calming the inflammation. However, problems occur when this \u201cHPA axis\u201d is not functioning correctly and too much or too little cortisol flows through your body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mat\u00e9, resolving the threatening situation <\/strong>(i.e. regaining control, or resolving the conflict) is the only way to deactivate the HPA stress response\u2014but we often can\u2019t. <\/strong>Usually,  we\u2019re not consciously aware of what the problem is, or we\u2019re not in a position to fix it. This is why many of us live with chronic stress without even knowing.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Three Stages of Threat Response<\/strong>

In The Body Keeps the Score<\/em><\/a>, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk discusses the effects of trauma<\/a> on health. He explains that in terms of stress reaction, there are three stages of threat response wired into us<\/a>.

Call for help<\/strong>: This can include verbally calling for help in an immediate crisis situation; in everyday situations, it can simply be reaching out to a friend for support, or giving subtle non-verbal cues<\/a> that you need something.  
Fight or flight:<\/strong> If nobody is available to help, or you need to act immediately, your body responds by activating the sympathetic nervous system and the resulting physiological responses, such as releasing adrenaline and cortisol.
Freeze:<\/strong> If you can\u2019t fight or flee the threat, your body goes into freeze, or \u201ccollapse,\u201d mode. In this state, many of your body\u2019s systems begin to shut down, and you may experience dissociation, where you may be unaware of pain.

In applying these stages to Mat\u00e9\u2019s theory, when a person is unable to resolve a \u201cthreat\u201d situation, such as when a child has no escape from an abusive parent, their body remains over long periods of time in either stage 2, resulting in hypervigilance, or stage 3, resulting in detachment and repression of emotion. In both cases, remaining chronically in such a physiological state is extremely destructive to the body\u2019s organs and systems. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Threats in the Modern World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we think of stressful events, we often think of things like a car accident, a divorce, or loss of a loved one<\/a>. When we experience these sorts of events, we feel the stress consciously and intensely. Mat\u00e9 defines this as acute<\/em> stress. He acknowledges that too much of this kind of stress can be harmful, but says the<\/strong> more<\/em><\/strong> harmful form of stress is <\/strong>chronic<\/em><\/strong>\u2014a low-grade constant stress reaction happening in our bodies throughout our lives.<\/strong> Much of this chronic stress is a product of our lifestyles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n