• Its psychological uses are frequently metaphorical rather than literal, dedicated as a catch-all for perceived difficulties in life

• It also became a euphemism, a way of referring to problems and eliciting sympathy without being explicitly confessional, just "stressed out"
• It covers a huge extension of phenomena from mild irritation to the kind of severe problems that might result in a concrete breakdown of health
• In hep usage almost any deed or situation between these extremes could be described as stressful. The most extreme events and reactions may elicit the diagnosis of Posttraumatic stress disorder.

A extensive biopsychosocial notion of stress and adaptation offered the promise of helping everyone achieve health and happiness by successfully responding to changing global challenges and the problems of modern civilisation. He coined the term "eustress" for positive stress, by contrast to distress. He argued that all people have a natural urge and need Stress Balls to bullwork for their own benefit, a message that found favor with industrialists and governments. He also coined the locution "stressor" to refer to the causative event or stimulus, as opposed to the resulting state of stress.