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stressors could lead to physical and emotio- bally and historically. However, in the last ap-
nal exhaustion and bodies could pay the price. proximate 70 years, we catalog these events as
Selye borrowed the term stress from enginee- being stressful. Indeed, a modern view of the
ring, a field where stress was defined as effects construct of stress has added to an understan-
of pressure or force on metal or other objects ding of the complex relationship between the
and the total amount of resistance that could be body and the soul, our physiology and our psy-
withstood. Since the time that Selye developed chology. Selye’s (1976) significant contribution
his theory, a more complex understanding of was to show the relationship between cellular
how stress impacts health and bodily systems events and behavioral and interpersonal events.
has emerged. Maté (2003) has summarized We now commonly accept that there are inter-
more recent findings of this connection in a actions between psychological experiences and
book for the general public entitled, When the physical symptoms.
Boy Says No. The growth of the field of health psychology,
The term stress eventually became a household specifically psychoneuroimmunology provides
term, but it has not always been that way. Hut- a growing body of research that shows that phy-
macher (2019) stated that the term stress only sical, bodily, and psychological events are not
came into use during the last half of the 20th isolated and indeed work together to impact
century. Kugelmann (1992) has also addressed mental and physical health. Kiecolt-Glasser, et
the history of the construct and emphasized al., (1998) provide a vivid example. Using small
the recent normalization of the word as applied puncture wounds purposely inflicted into the
to human experience. For example, a student skin, these researchers showed that research
recently came into my office and talked about participants heal 40% slower if the wound oc-
how stressed she was because of a friendship curred prior to a major exam compared to a
concern. During exam weeks, students commi- wound that occurred during summer vacati-
serate about the stress they feel. A client started on when there is less stress. In other studies,
our session recently by discussing the complexi- it was shown that married couples in conflict
ty of her life and the stress she experienced from heal from the same type of puncture wound
in-laws. Another client talked about the stress at slower rates (Kiecolt-Glasser, et al., 2005).
of his job. Still another client was forlorn by the Other research shows the relationship between
stress of health issues. Prior to the mid 1900’s, psychological trauma and inflammation on a
this phrase would not have been used. Though cellular level, a condition associated with heart
the terminology is relatively new, the experi- disease and other health issues (O’Donovan,
ence is not. Before the common expression of Neylan, Metzler, & Cohen, 2012).
the word stress, people experienced events that This article is not intended to provide a com-
brought them worry, depression, grief, sorrow, prehensive review of the research that shows a
and other emotions. Today we often associate mind-body connection. Previously cited studies
these experiences with stress. In the more gene- are only examples of the types of research being
ral use of the term, modern persons often use done in the area of mind and body. A simple
the term stress to communicate that life is get- review of the literature will provide a plethora
ting out of balance (Hutmacher, 2019). of evidence to show this connection. For the lay
The cocept of stress has become reified. Contem- reader, Maté (2003) provides a host of clinical
porary psychological research has solidified the examples to show how psychological factors
concept of stress in our daily lives. Meyers and and stress can impact physical health. Rather,
DeWall (2019) in their introductory psychology the focus of this article is to consider stress as
text divide stressors into three major categories: modern construct that can be understood phy-
“catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily sically, psychologically, and spiritually.
hassles” (p. 385). These are the common experi-
ences of humanity throughout the ages. A simp- Stress and Modern Life
le review of human history shows that humans Throughout time, challenging events and times
have faced these types of experiences both glo- have tested the fortitude of persons. Today we

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