Stress is a normal response to feeling threatened or to facing a challenge you’re not sure you can meet. It can be chronic, which means it is long lasting and often gets worse over time. Or it can be acute, coming on quickly with short-lived but often severe symptoms.

You can have emotional stress, for example the feelings you get when you have money problems or the way you felt hearing you have cancer. You can also have physical stress. For instance, not getting the sleep you need can make it hard for your body to do what it needs to do. An illness can put stress on organs and other parts of your body. And some treatments or medications you take can cause your body to react in stressful ways.