The theoretical notions underpinning what stress is, where it is located, how it is thought to operate and with what sorts of consequences are the focuses of this paper. Beginning with a list of sources representing the medical/psychological model of stress, the paper then discusses this model, including how biologic stress is conceptualized by the medical profession, the ancient biological tradition of human response behaviors, what events can be considered stressful, what happens when a person is stressed, and what different types of stress exist. The paper then explores the role of communication in the medical/psychological model of stress, including the implications of intrapersonal communication (self-talk and cognitive evaluations). Next, the paper lists recent sources in emotion and stress in the field of speech communication and concludes with a summary of recent research in emotion and stress in the field. This final section discusses new directions in communicating emotion and stress, based on the works of Michael J. Hyde, Ross Buck, and John Waite Bowers, which deal with the function and impact of emotions, and theories of emotion communication. (EL)