The Proposal for a Four-Phase Stress Model

Stress has been identified as a major risk factor for mental illness and its prevalence is rising globally, not only harming the workforce but also translating into an enormous cost to the labor organizations. The diagnosis of stress cannot be arbitrary, as it requires an adequate understanding of what constitutes a stress reaction and of the symptomatological condition that characterizes it. To prevent and treat stress-related consequences, it is necessary to learn how to identify its symptoms and their severity. The present paper constitutes a proposal for a four-stage model of the stress process, adding a phase to Selye’s three-phase model. The model identifies an intermediary phase between the resistance and exhaustion stages of the Selye model, possessing characteristics distinct from the other stages. This newly identified stage has been named the Near- exhaustion phase. Stress symptoms from a sample of 37,454 adult subjects were grouped according to the four proposed phases, which may be used as an aid for the diagnosis of stress. It is suggested that a four-phase stress process should replace Selye’s three-phase model.