Dealing with Stress Before we look at the different methods of dealing with stress, we must first define stress and find out what causes it. There are 3 definitions of stress: 1. The definition of response: this is Selye's approach; means that any stimulus that causes a stress response is, by definition, a stressor. The definition of stimulus: This definition holds that we can agree that certain events are stressful, so any reaction they cause can be called a stress response. Unfortunately there are individual differences and we cannot assume that what is stressed by one person is also stressed by everyone else. The transactional model: This is the most popular approach to the study of stress today. He argues that the key to defining the degree of stress experienced by an individual lies in the perception of himself and his world. Many people try to manage stress and there are many methods available. One method is to use medications to treat stress. The drugs most commonly used to combat stress are the anxiolytics benzodiazepines (BZ) and beta-blockers. BZs such as Librium and Valium are the most commonly prescribed medications for psychological disorders and have proven to be very effective in combating stress and anxiety. They appear to work by reducing the activity of the brain neurotransmitters seretonin. Beta blockers don't actually enter the brain but reduce activity in nervous system pathways around the body. Since sympathetic arousal is a fundamental characteristic of the state of stress, it can be very effective against symptoms such as increased heart rate… middle of paper… what happens in our life. The concept of Hardiness has been criticized, as the relative importance of the three factors is unclear. Studies of Kobasa'a also usually involve white, middle-class men and cannot be successfully generalized to include women, other ethnicities, and social classes. Kobasa's work draws attention to other factors that are important in managing stress, social support, and exercise. All these factors play an important part in stress management but taking into account all the criticisms and factors involved in the studies, drug-related methods are probably the best ways to deal with stress in the short term, but other methods like Stress inoculation training are the best methods for those people who have enough time and money to successfully indulge in the programs.