Generalised unsafety

"Nothing seems to be happening, yet I still feel tense."

Sound familiar? Scientists from Leiden University have tried to uncover the nature and mechanism behind chronic stress.

Stress is traditionally understood as a reaction to unpleasant or dangerous events. This is the classic explanation of a stress response.

Take, for example, Lazarus’s definition: “Stress is a situation in which the demands of the environment exceed an individual’s ability to cope with those demands.”

We’re used to thinking about stress this way — it must have a cause, a stimulus, or a trigger.

The boss yells → the stress response is activated.

A logical solution in this scenario:

▪️ Reduce the number of stressors (like yelling bosses).

▪️ Strengthen your coping mechanisms for dealing with stressors.

But what if I told you that chronic stress doesn’t necessarily need anything to happen at all?

This is precisely the argument made by Jos Brosschot’s Theory of Generalized Unsafety from Leiden University.

What does the theory suggest?

According to this theory, our brain’s default mode is one of readiness to respond to danger. If we feel calm, it means our brain is actively suppressing this reaction.

Strangely enough, this system is more energy-efficient and faster than turning the stress response on and off for every potential threat.

So, what suppresses the stress response?

Signals of safety.

In other words, even if your boss isn’t yelling, your partner isn’t cheating, and there’s no public speaking event looming, you could still be chronically stressed.

Why?

Because:

▫️ First, you may not have learned how to effectively suppress your stress response. This learning process begins in the womb and early childhood.

▫️ Second, your internal and external environment might lack sufficient safety signals for your brain to confidently say: “All clear. You can relax now.”

Think of it as an ancient town crier walking through the city shouting, 📣 “All is well! You can sleep peacefully!” If people hear the message, they go to bed. If they don’t, they stay alert, bracing for danger by default.

🔥 Drop some 🔥 if you’re curious to learn more about what gives us that essential sense of safety on a subconscious level!