How Chronic Stress Manifests

Chronic stress is, simply put, stress that lingers for longer than necessary. It is stress that persists. That definition is important because 'normal' stress is supposed to be very transient. Stress is not supposed to linger for too long. Neither is stress supposed to become permanent. It is worth pointing out, contrary to what many of us imagine, that stress (ordinary, transient stress) is not an illness. It is a normal part of being human. If you don't experience any stress in situations that would ordinarily be expected to cause stress, then you would be abnormal in some way. You would probably be a zombie. So the experience of ordinary stress is not bad. It is when stress become permanent, persistent (or more precisely, chronic) that it qualifies to be seen as a problem, calling for intervention.