According to psychologist Richard Lazarus, the cognitive-mediational theory suggests that

if a person lacks adequate resources to deal with stress, but then discovers new resources, that person will remain stressed nevertheless.

the way people think about and appraise a stressor is a major factor in how stressful that particular stressor becomes.

in order to identify a threat, a person must know the resources available for coping with the stressor.

cognitive identification of the stressors brings automatic relief.