People face the pressures of competing with others for resources of one kind or another , whether it be educational , occupational , marital , and many other items . Each resource creates its own special kind of stress .

Stress is a pressure or force that tends to make things difficult for people to get or even do . In competitive struggle , we are encouraged to surpass other people . It is success that gains the rewards . Consequently , many people feel compelled to drive themselves mercilessly towards high levels of achievement , subjecting themselves to constant and severe pressure . Yet inappropriate or indiscriminate competition , particularly the type of competition , where one person can achieve or succeed only at the expense of others , can be especially harmful for the individual or a group of people .

From an educational standpoint , there are the long hours of study , work , the tension from taking tests and the concentration of effort for many years resulting in stress for many students . If a student is trained in every aspect of life , that student will have the capability of becoming a highly productive citizen . If a student is handicapped by inefficient study habits , inadequate financial resources , personal problems and other items , the continuing effort for academic achievement can be highly stressful .

From an occupational standpoint , many jobs make severe demands in terms of responsibility , time and performance . If the individual is not really interested in or well suited to the work , occupational demands are likely to be a major source of stress .

Marriage and family life make demands on both spouses . These demands may be especially stressful if either partner is immature and poorly prepared for the responsibilities , plus if there are incompatibilities between the spouses , or if financial or other problems make the external situation unfavorable . Also , the arrival of children and the problems of parenthood can increase the pressures on both spouses .

The stress of living can play havoc on the psychological as well as the biological level . It can lower the adaptive efficiency over time . Also , the insufficient time to deal with the many changing demands and the necessity of making choices before adequate information is available may lead to bad decisions .