Stressors Vs. Crisis'

A Crisis and a Stressor are two different things, both of which affect the family, but affect the family in two different ways. One might wonder what the difference is between a Stressor and Crisis. Lets talk about a what a stressor is. A stressor is when something happens to a family or an individual family that causes stress or troublesome thoughts and feelings. It does not necessarily cause the family to change, no family member roles are shifted.

A Crisis is when something happens that dramatically affects the family to where changes in family roles may need to be changed. An example of this is when parent passes away especially while children are still living at home. The other parent is going to have to take on more responsibility, maybe take on a job or even two jobs to provide for the family. The children are going to have to be more self-reliant and possibly take over things at home more. The children would most likely have to take more care of each other rather then relying on their parents to be the nurturers.

You can conclude that a Crisis is more severe because it causes actual affect and change within the family. However, stressors can cause a lot of changes in the family as well; maybe not actual physical changes but maybe changes that might include adjustments in rules, church related topics, and other common stressful situations that everyone has to deal with it. Whether you and your family is going through a Crisis or a Stressor just remember to stay positive and do what's best for the family. The last thing you want is a broken family.

~Don't Forget to Smile!