Stress : From a biological, social, and psychological perspective

Over the years stress has been a term lacking one clear and specific definition. In general, the term stress has been used mostly as an explanation of a response or reaction to a stressor. A stressor can be of both physiological and behavioral character. The experience of stress can occur both due to a real or a perceived stressor. In this literature review, the concept of stress is viewed with insights from biological, psychological, and social perspectives. The stress response is described biologically with the central nervous system (CNS), the brain, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Social and psychological stress are concepts related to how stress is perceived by the mind and due to social surroundings which is described in relation to social support, self-efficacy, the locus of control and cognitive appraisal. Dealing with stress can be done through coping which refers to the individual capacity to handle a stressor and has generally been divided into two categories, active/passive coping and problem-focused/emotion-focused coping. Depending on the individual resources to cope with a stressor and the ability to decrease the stress response when needed, the long-term effects of stress can therefore vary between individuals. It has been found that positive coping (known as reducing stress) can increase the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) volume and decrease anxiety and depression. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), the hippocampus, and the amygdala are closely linked to the ACC and affect emotions, learning, and memory related to the stress response