Different people will be affected by different types of changes, but common stressors (agents that cause stress) include:

• Life events. Events such as divorce or separation, death of a loved one, infertility or the birth of a child, moving, a major financial setback and employment changes are common stressors. Stress may also result from becoming the victim of a crime or natural disaster. Individuals who witness or experience such traumatic events may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that involves feelings of intense fear, helplessness and/or horror brought on by experiencing or watching an especially terrifying event.
  
  
• Daily events. Events such as traffic congestion, long commutes, working overtime, deadlines, personal conflicts, car trouble, job stress, and juggling household chores and childcare can be stressful for many people.
  
  
• Environmental stressors. Common environmental stressors include pollution, weather extremes and excessive noise.
  
  
• Physical stressors. Physical injury, chronic pain and/or disease, tiring physical activity (e.g., traveling), and unsatisfied physical needs, such as hunger, thirst or lack of sleep, can all induce stress.

There are also some characteristics that may impede a person’s ability to cope with change, causing them to experience more stress. These characteristics include:

• Genetic predisposition. Some inherited psychological factors can inhibit an individual’s ability to cope with change.
  
  
• Inability to adapt. Most people are eventually able to adapt more comfortably to a change, such as learning to drive on a particularly busy highway in the morning. However, some people never make this adjustment and each repeated event produces the same intense physical response.
  
  
• Inadequate relaxation response. The stress hormones of some people do not return to normal levels following an acute stress event. The elevated hormone levels cause prolonged wear and tear on the body. This is particularly common in highly competitive athletes and individuals with a history of major depression.
  
  
• Age. Both the young and the elderly tend to be more susceptible to stress than people of other age groups. Children are particularly susceptible because they often have little control over change and because they cannot communicate their feelings well enough to help manage stress. Seniors are susceptible because they are often exposed to multiple major stressors, such as the loss of a spouse, medical problems, financial worries and/or a change of living situation.
  
  
• Isolation. Individuals who lack a solid social network of friends and family are more likely to have trouble adjusting to change.
  
  
• Environment. Stress can be job-related. Interpersonal conflicts with others and office politics are just two examples. People with a high level of responsibility, such as air-traffic controllers, are also prone to stress.