clipped from: www.independent.co.uk   

Feeling "stressed"? Problems everywhere you look? Stuck in the traffic again and late for work? Congratulations – you're human. There's nothing abnormal about having problems or a lot to do. They are not clinical conditions. Yet when we say we are "stressed" we assume that we are suffering from some medical malaise about which there is huge scientific evidence and a lot of fear. Indeed, if you go to your GP and tell him about these feelings, he might even give you a sick note.

It may interest you to know that in all of the scientific research there is no identifiable condition called "stress". The same word is used to refer to more than 650 quite different things, including most human emotions. Anxiety, annoyance and frustration may not be pleasant, but they are perfectly normal.
Correct treatment depends on correct diagnosis. Sick notes should refer to illnesses. And, according to the Health and Safety Executive, "stress" is not an illness.