[abcdcba]

Are there different types of stresses? Do these physical external stresses (lack of food, wet bed, being physically stuck) have the same affect as a internal stress that we may have some control over (existential crisis, feeling stuck, social anxiety)?

[basseq]

Or is it the ability to deal with stress, regardless of the source? If I'm reading the study[1] correctly, offspring of stressed fathers were less stressed than offspring of non-stressed fathers:

> Alternatively, a reduced physiological stress response may reflect an adaptive response programmed by the paternal lineage as a protective measure, ensuring greater offspring fitness in what is expected to be a more stressful environment.

Interestingly, this doesn't seem to be associated with "serotonin in mediating changes in [...] stress", most commonly associated with SSRIs, which are used to treat psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, etc.

[1] http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/21/9003.long

[gerbilly]

It is generally agreed that both types of stressors environmental and psycho-social, have the same effects. These effects can be measured in hormone levels in the blood.

Of course malnutrition and other physical insults might also cause permanent injuries.

[BrendanD]

Prolonged elevated cortisol levels?