According to the original proposal of H. Selye [1963] stress, perceived as "stress of life", constituted a non-specific reaction of the body to many factors, inducing threat to homeostasis. Since then, the very course of this reaction, as well as its early and late consequences, have been considered to be essential for the health status. In many diseases, this non-specific reaction complements and modifies the effect of specific pathogenic factors. In this issue of Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, three articles refer directly to this topic. Kokoszka et al. analyze the stressful impact of waiting for cardiac surgery. The results of studies by Rybakowski et al. suggest an important role of stressful, undesirable childhood experiences on the later clinical features of bipolar affective disorder. Also the study of Jordanian authors is related to the problem of stress - if the severity and context of professional burnout differentiates the group of teachers and nurses, perhaps stress generated by the conditions of their work can explain these differences?