Definition:
Chronic stress refers to a prolonged and ongoing state of psychological or physiological stress caused by persistent pressures rather than acute events. Unlike short-term stress responses, chronic stress does not resolve naturally and can become a baseline condition.
Usage Context:
Often used in discussions of work culture, poverty, disability, healthcare, and modern living conditions where individuals are exposed to continuous demands, uncertainty, or threat without adequate relief or recovery.
Critical Note:
In late-stage capitalist systems, chronic stress is frequently treated as a personal resilience issue rather than a structural outcome. This framing obscures the role of economic precarity, surveillance, performance metrics, and constant optimization pressures in producing stress as a normalized condition.
Related Terms:
Economic Precarity, Ambient Harm, Burnout, Attritional Harm, Background Coercion