Stress

v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Stress is a condition that is similar to unhappiness in earlier versions. It will cause the dwarf to flash with a downward red arrow, and "Over the long term, Urist McStressed has been under a great deal of stress" will show on the personality trait tab.

Dwarves under stress for long periods of time will develop worse symptoms of stress level: "Urist McReallyStressed has become haggard and drawn due to the tremendous amounts of stresses placed upon him". In the short term, excessive levels of stress will lead to temporary emotional breakdowns - throwing tantrums, slipping into depression, or stumbling around obliviously. In the long term, excessive levels of stress will lead to insanity.

Animals can also be stressed, which seems to happen when an animal has been constrained for a long time.

Stress levels are given as a number, where a negative number is good, and a positive number is bad.

You may want to check on keeping your dwarves unstressed

Stress factors

Stress is affected by the emotions a dwarf experiences upon encountering certain circumstances; these encounters are temporarily shown as thoughts in the dwarf's profile, though the resulting stress can linger long after the thoughts are gone. The strength of the emotions (and the resulting stress values) vary based on the dwarf's personality.

Being out in the sun seems to affect dwarves quite strongly in terms of stress.

Moving past corpses seems to trigger unhappy "horrified" thoughts which are wrongly labelled "seeing XXX die". If you see such a thought, make sure to clean up corpses and place in a (deep) dump.

Emotions and the level of stress or stress relief they cause presumably have numerical values under the hood, but in game their effect can only be determined by color. Note that in many instances the same things cause different emotions. The exact mechanisms of how it's decided what emotions are to follow are as of yet unclear, but there's a general consensus that it depends on both severity of factors and the personality of dwarf in question.

Here is a start of table of emotions and what they can be caused by:

Emotion	Cause
enraptured	Communing with a deity
pleasure	Being next to fine/very fine/splendid/completely sublime furniture, acquiring well-crafted items, putting on a well-crafted/exceptional item
admiration	Being next to completely sublime furniture
fondness	Making a new friend, talking with a friend or a sibling
sympathy	Giving somebody water or food, bringing somebody to rest in bed
affection	Playing with a pet, forming a bond with the trained animal, talking with a friend
adoration	Giving birth to a baby
love	Talking with parent, spouse, or child, gaining a sibling
tenderness	Talking with the spouse
aroused	Talking with spouse
caring	Giving somebody food
proud	Owning a high quality furniture, being elected as a mayor
gratitude	Being rescued, receiving water of food
repentant	Being confined
euphoric	Drinking
enjoyment	Performing, playing with toys, playing make believe
gaiety	Performing
blissful	Dining in a legendary dining room, sleeping in a good/great bedroom, having a bath, becoming a parent
jovial	Having a mandate deadline met
delighted	Watching a performance, eating a truly decent meal, putting on an exceptional item, being near to a waterfall
content	Being able to rest after injury, eating a fine/pretty decent meal, having a fine/pretty decent drink, putting on a well-crafted item, discussing or pondering a topic, having a bath, being near to a waterfall
satisfied	Receiving water or food, being successful at work, improving a skill, mastering a skill, teaching a skill, producing a masterwork, creating an artifact, reading and/or learning a book, felling a tree, slaughtering an animal, getting into an argument, caging a creature, realizing the value of leisure time, realizing the value of nature, realizing nuances of independence, realizing nuances of fairness, realizing nuances of loyalty, realizing nuances of law, realizing nuances of leisure time, realizing nuances of friendship, realizing the value of knowledge, realizing the worthlessness of eloquence, realizing the worthlessness of power
elated	Committing a crime and having punishment delayed
relieved	Being rescued, bringing somebody to rest, committing a crime and having punishment delayed, being near to a waterfall
expectant	Discussing or pondering a topic
triumph	Being re-elected as a mayor
optimistic	Being able to rest and recuperate
exhilarated	Being attacked, getting into an argument
interested	Being next to fine/very fine/splendid/completely sublime furniture, watching a performance, being taught a skill, realizing the value of nature, realizing nuances of perseverance, realizing nuances of craftsmanship
astonished	Being sentenced by dwarven justice and having punishment reduced
wonder	Being taught a skill, realizing the worthlessness of perseverance, realizing the value of family, realizing the value of competition, realizing the value of cooperation
awe	Being next to completely sublime furniture
ambivalent	Delayed punishment of a criminal
annoyed	Being caught in a rain, being caught in a snow storm, being out in the sun, eating without a table or chair, eating without a proper dining room, sleeping on dirt/rocks/cave floor/in the grass, drinking without a goblet or mug, drinking water without a well, suffering a minor injury, choking on cave-in dust, choking on smoke, being accosted by hated vermin, being pestered by flies
grouchy	Being caught in a rain, being caught in a snow storm, being out in the sun, drinking the same old booze
exasperated	Being caught in a rain
irritated	Being out in the sun, being hungry/thirsty/drowsy for a long time, eating at crowded table, wearing tattered clothes
dislike	Talking to somebody annoying
bitter	Getting into an argument, wearing tattered clothes
resentful	Getting into an argument
lonely	Being away from family, being away from friends, being away from people, being unable to make merry, being unable to make romance
uneasy	Being unable to pray to deity, lack of decent meals, being caught in a freakish weather, being kept from alcohol, being unable to be extravagant, being unable to help anybody, being unable to admire art, being unable to acquire something, generally being unable to take it easy
worried	Lack of decent meals, being kept from alcohol, being unable to pray to deity
restless	Being able to rest and recuperate, being unable to practice a craft, being unable to practice a martial art, being unable to learn, being unable to use abstract thinking, lack of trouble-making, doing nothing creative, generally living an unexciting life
guilty	Being confined, being able to rest and recuperate, being rescued
self-pity	Being away from family, being away from friends, being unable to argue, being unable to fight, being unable to make merry, being unable to practice a craft, lack of abstract thinking, being unoccupied, doing nothing creative
frustrated	Having a mandate ignored, getting into an argument, being unable to practice a craft, being unable to practice a martial art, being unable to pray to a deity, being kept from alcohol, being unable to acquire something, being unable to wander, lack of abstract thinking, generally living an unexciting life
bored	Being unoccupied, being unable to practice a craft, being unable to practice a martial art, being unable to learn, being unable to use abstract thinking, being unable to wander, being unable to fight, being unable to hear eloquent speech, lack of trouble-making, doing nothing creative, generally living an unexciting life
embarrassed	Sleeping without a proper room, wearing tattered clothes
dejected	Being caught in a rain, wearing tattered clothes, being unable to pray to deity, being kept from alcohol, being unable to admire art, being unable to acquire something, being unable to take it easy
glum	Getting into an argument
indignant	Being forced to endure the decay of a dead friend
insulted	Being forced to endure the decay of a dead friend, getting into an argument
confused	Being knocked out during cave-in
shaken	Suffering a major injury
hopeless	Suffering a major injury, being nauseated by the sun
disgusted	Smelling miasma, being nauseated by the sun, drinking water from murky pool, being caught in a freakish weather, being forced to eat vermin, being forced to drink vomit
distressed	Being pestered by flies
humiliated	Eating without a table or chair, wearing tattered clothes
ashamed	Eating without a chair
frightened	Being haunted by a ghost
sad	Being separated from loved ones
grieving	Somebody's death
shocked	Being attacked, unexpected death of somebody, having a masterwork destroyed or stolen
panicked	Being attacked, being starving/dehydrated
angry	Getting into an argument, being forced to endure the decay of a dead friend
afraid	Experiencing trauma
terrified	Being in combat
horrified	Seeing corpses of sapient creatures, being caught in a freakish weather, being haunted by a ghost
vengeful	Joining a battle
outraged	Being forced to endure the decay of a dead spouse
loathing	Being beaten up in course of dwarven justice or otherwise