Chapter 12 is about stress, coping and health. Stress is a response to an event that is difficult to cope with. Not all stress originates from negative events and not all stress is a bad, but it is generally a good idea to have lower levels of stress. How stressful an event is varies from person to person, but major changes in someone's life will always cause stress to some degree.
High amounts of stress can be problematic because they tend to increase the risk of health problems. Several studies have shown that higher levels of stress increase the chance of catching a cold or heart disease. While stress itself may not be the direct cause of these problems, it could cause other activities that weaken the body and make the body more susceptible to disease.
Coping with stress is important because it determines how we react to the stress we are under. There are many ways to cope with stress and choosing the best way for each situation is the best way to reduce stress. Not all methods of coping may be useful in every situation. If a coping method is ineffective it may cause more stress stemming from an inability to reduce stress.
Stress is a part of everyone's life, and how people deal with stress is important because it has an effect on the mental and physical health of the person.
It's very common that you find people who are always miserable are more often than not sick. It's been a long-held belief that stress is a huge factor in one's physical health although the exact cause of such a thing is not completely certain. This is why there are hospitals such as Crosswinds out in Woodbury, I believe, that deals with making people as comfortable as possible in an attempt to better the health of the individual during treatments. I believe this is incredibly important to understand because putting yourself in emotional harm goes much deeper than just a bad day, it can lead to some pretty significant things, even if the exact cause is uncertain.