You experience distress when you perceive the demands that confront you as difficult, dangerous or threatening.
At the same time, you may be saying to yourself (psychologists call this self-talk) ‘I can’t manage, or I can’t cope…’ Consider the case of Janet, a recent divorcee with two small children to care for. She is financially insecure and needs a job – she has accounts to pay and a nanny to take care of the children. To make matters worse, her estranged husband defaults on alimony payments.