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Literature Review

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Regular Issue

What is Stress? Stress Medicine

Submitted
June 30, 2025
Published
June 30, 2025

Abstract

Stress, a pivotal factor in mind-body interactions, remains ambiguously defined, complicating research and clinical practice. This review redefines stress-related terms—stress stimuli, processing, response/sign, feedback loop, and symptom—to clarify their roles in homeostasis, building on Selye’s general adaptation syndrome and Cannon’s homeostasis framework. We emphasize chronic psychosocial stressors (e.g., social defeat, early-life adversity), which engage limbic circuits and mimic physical stressor symptoms (e.g., fatigue, psychogenic fever), leading to diagnostic confusion. An evolutionary perspective highlights humans’ predisposition to stress vulnerability as anxious, social mammals. Stress medicine is an emerging interdisciplinary field that integrates neurobiological, psychological, and clinical approaches to address these complexities. Treatment strategies differentiate biological symptoms, which are managed with pharmacotherapy (e.g., SSRIs for psychogenic fever), from behavioral problems (e.g., rumination, impulsivity), which are addressed through educational interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness training. A two-step approach, first distinguishing biological and behavioral pathologies, then integrating them, has been shown to optimize care. By elucidating stress mechanisms and treatments, this review lays the foundation for the stress theory series of Core Reports, advancing a holistic understanding of stress-related disorders.

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