Stress can mean different things to different people. Any given situation can feel tense and pressurised for one person, while the next might find it stimulating and exciting. Stress is determined not just by events in the outside world, but by how each individual perceives them.

The good news is that ever since man stood on two legs (let alone wrote a news story), our bodies and brains have evolved to deal with stress. Our prehistoric ancestors faced life-and-death threats on a daily basis, so the body developed accordingly, triggering physiological reactions that equipped them either to fight off the danger or run away from it. We learned to survive.

In the modern world, stresses are not necessarily life-threatening (although as a journalist they sometimes can be), but they can come at us from many different directions, both as external threats and internal worries.

The bad news is that we have not evolved to distinguish between the two. The subconscious mind, for instance, does not discern the difference between an actual stressful event and the mental preoccupation with a potentially stressful event.

We will, therefore, have many of the same physical reactions to both real and perceived stresses. In practice, this means that a threat to our lives will register in much the same way as, say, a threat to our jobs. Fear of being killed can have a very similar effect to the fear of being alone.

We all need a bit of pressure. If we didn't have challenges to meet and goals to work towards, it would be difficult to get out of bed in the morning. Research suggests moderate amounts of pressure make us more alert and sharpen both our motivation and our performance. (Engaging in a memory task, for instance, boosts your immune system.)

But as the pressure builds, it becomes stress, and as soon as that happens, our bodies are programmed to respond in the way they always have. This has come to be known as the 'Fight or Flight Response'.

Fight or Flight Response

Many things can activate the Fight or Flight Response. It could be a nearby explosion or the sound of gun-fire. But it could also be a row with a colleague, a factual error in a story getting out on the wire, or a cut in your monthly budget.

Whatever the cause, your body gets ready for action. Sequences of nerve cells fire up, releasing a range of hormones into the bloodstream. Adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol raise your blood pressure, increase your heart beat and make you sweat. This reaction also dumps extra fat and sugar into your blood, which is then pumped away from your digestive system into muscles and limbs, preparing them for the fight ahead.

This is all very useful, of course, as a precursor to strenuous physical activity, which would metabolise the chemicals and - along with the passing of the physical danger - return your body to its normal relaxed state.

The trouble starts when the initial shock is simply too traumatic for the body and mind to absorb, or when the stress becomes chronic and repeated. Without proper release mechanisms, such as physical exercise and relaxation, the chemicals build up in the body until we face overload. Memory is affected, our immune system is weakened, and our general capacity to cope is diminished.

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