Stressor

Last reviewed Saturday, October 24, 2026

A stressor is anything that causes stress: an event, situation or demand, inside or outside you, that calls on you to adjust or cope. Exams, workloads, money worries, illness and conflict are common stressors; so are welcome changes, such as a wedding. How much one affects you depends partly on how you see it and the support you have.

Also called: source of stress; stress trigger.

Our stress guide covers the signs, common stressors in Nigeria and what helps.

Types

Short-term or ongoing: a one-off pressure, such as a job interview, or one that lasts months, such as caring for a sick parent.
Outside or inside: a difficult boss, or the pressure you put on yourself.
Life events and daily hassles: big changes, which psychologists Holmes and Rahe listed and ranked in 1967, and small daily irritations such as traffic or power cuts. In one study, daily hassles predicted symptoms better than big life events.
Everyday or traumatic: WHO’s ICD-11 separates stressors within the normal range of life, such as divorce or job loss, from extremely threatening or horrific events, which can lead to PTSD.

Coping

Psychologists describe two broad ways of coping. Problem-focused coping tackles the stressor itself, such as making a study plan before exams. Emotion-focused coping manages your reaction, through relaxation, prayer, positive reframing or talking to someone. People tend to use the first when they think they can change the situation, and the second when they can’t.

In Nigeria

There’s no national measure of stress, but studies of particular groups point to money and the cost of living, heavy workloads, exams, family responsibilities and insecurity. WHO notes that stress is widespread during economic crises and community violence.

Stressor vs stress

The stressor is the cause; stress is your mind and body’s response, such as a racing heart, poor sleep or irritability. When the response lasts and disrupts daily life, it may become an adjustment disorder, which usually starts within a month of the stressor and eases within six months of it ending.

When to get help

If a stressor has left you struggling to cope for weeks, or stress is affecting your sleep, work or relationships, talk to someone. A licensed therapist on Mytherapist.ng who works with stress and burnout can help.

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