This term describes anything that causes a stress response.

• A. Stressor
• B. Health
• C. Wellness
• D. Physiological

Answer: (A)

When studying stress, the focus is on what prompts the body's stress reaction. The trigger is anything that demands a response or threatens safety, and that is called a stressor. A stressor can be something external, like a noisy environment, a looming deadline, or an injury, or something internal, like anxious thoughts. The stress response itself is the body's rapid set of changes—often called the fight-or-flight reaction—driven by hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to increase alertness and energy. The stressor best fits the description because it explains what starts the response, not what the body does or what condition it’s in. The other terms describe the state of health or the body’s processes, not the thing that initiates the reaction.