Psychological stress may increase an individual's vulnerability to
mental and physical illness. This may be prevented if the individual
receives social support in mastering the stressful situation in the form of
cognitive guidance that compensates for the inevitable reduction in his
problem-solving capacity caused by stress-induced emotional arousal. This
guidance should also help the individual or compensate for this arousal and
enable him to come to terms with inescapable changes in his life produced
by the experience. Empirical researches confirm that exposure to high
stress by individuals receiving adequate support does not increase the risk
of mental and physical illness.Abstract Teaser