Final answer:
Stress can be caused by various factors, including daily hassles, chronic stressors, and individual appraisal of events. Daily hassles such as rush hour traffic and arguments with friends can build up and create stress. Chronic stressors persist over time, while acute stressors involve brief focal events. Additionally, stress is subjective and depends on how a person interprets and appraises an event.
Step-by-step explanation:
Stress can be caused by various factors, and not just by a particular person or event. One major source of stress is daily hassles, which are the minor irritations and annoyances we encounter in our everyday lives, such as rush hour traffic, lost keys, obnoxious coworkers, and arguments with friends or family. These daily hassles can build up and create as much stress as major life events.
Another common source of stress is the presence of chronic or acute stressors. Chronic stressors are events that persist over a long period of time, like caring for a parent with dementia or experiencing long-term unemployment. Acute stressors, on the other hand, are brief focal events that can continue to be overwhelming even after they are over, such as breaking a leg in an accident.
Ultimately, stress is subjective and depends on how a person appraises and interprets an event. If an event is seen as harmful and the demands exceed the available resources to manage it, the person will experience stress. In contrast, if the same event is not perceived as threatening, there will be no stress response.