PERSONAL APPRAISAL
In this story, as with many in the real world, stress is not caused by an objective event; rather, it is the result of a complex interaction between the person and situation.
In their classic book Stress, Appraisal, and Coping (Springer, 1984), Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman describe it this way:
“Psychological stress is a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being” (p. 19).
How the person appraises the situation is the key.
In making this appraisal, the individual is answering many questions: Is this situation taxing to me? Am I threatened in any way? Can I deal confidently with this situation? ...
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