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Stress Differentiation

Meaning

Stress Differentiation is the clinical ability to accurately categorize and respond to various types of physiological and psychological stressors based on their source, intensity, duration, and the specific hormonal and neurological pathways they activate. This precision approach moves beyond a monolithic view of “stress” to enable the implementation of targeted, context-specific interventions, such as differentiating between a beneficial acute hormetic stressor and a detrimental chronic allostatic load. Effective differentiation is the foundation of personalized stress management.