Stress is the cascade of excitations in nervous system and release of the hormones, instantly preparing the body to «fight or flee» aimed to survive and adjust to external or internal events (changes).

Acute stress – a short-term arousal which can be discharged by:

- physical action (”fight or flee”), which leads to adaptation by the change of situation, or

- understanding and mental solving the conflict (question) that leads to the change of one’s own expectations and strategy of behavior.

Such “discharge” results in relief, pleasure, relaxation and fast restoration.

The price of courtesy. The public aversion for “flee” (as weakness) and “fight” (as aggression and threat to others) is experienced by stressed one as guilt for those impulses. So, we tend to suppress them, and internal conflicts behind them. But such suppression itself is a powerful stressor leading to the ongoing mental “re-playing” of stressful situation and to accumulation of pressure. It makes stress chronic and and leads to exhaustion.