I have heard that stress is caused by an internal conflict. Such as being put into a situation where the biological "right thing to do" is fight or flight, but the "socially expected thing to do" is to stand there and tolerate some authoritard giving you ridiculous orders. I had my own way of dealing with this while trapped in the government indoctrination centers called "school": I daydreamed a lot. After I learned to read, school didn't teach me anything of any value until high school, when I was fortunate enough to have a teacher for a couple of years who taught his students to think critically about what we were told. He is probably to blame for a lot of who I am now. That is another item for another day.
Back to the current thoughts. I already live in Libertopia in my mind, so when I am confronted by the stupidity of the authoritarian dystopia surrounding me, the dissonance causes a lot of stress to my system. I know how I should respond to a given situation, but the societal realities mean I would be punished violently by the "law". We are expected, and "legally" required, to sit down and shut up and by all means, don't bother the noble authorities by making a scene. So, I put up with a lot of nonsense that no one in a free society would ever be forced to tolerate quietly. I am sure the same thing applies to you.
This goes back to my post on "enjoying what liberty we have left" from a few days ago. Enjoy what freedoms you have left, and the ones you can probably get away with. After all, "They can't control us all".
