According to Neuman (1982), clients are always in a state of dynamic equilibrium with the environment, which she views as a perceptual field surrounding each person. Given Neuman's broad definition of environment and her focus on stress factors and the reaction of each person to them, it can be inferred that stress factors comprise the environment. She views the con- cept of stress as a tension-producing stimulus that has the potential of causing illness by pro- ducing disequilibrium in the body system. The environment can also be divided into internal and external components