clinicians believe that psychological characteristics alone determine mental disorders. others speculate that abnormal behavior can be explained by a mix of social and psychological factors. in many examples, environmental and psychological triggers complement one another resulting in emotional stress, which in turn activates a mental illness. each person is unique in how they will react to psychological stressors. what may break one person may have little to no effect on another. psychological stressors, which can trigger mental illness, are as follows: emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, loss of a significant loved one, neglect, and being unable to relate to others. the inability to relate to others is also known as emotional detachment. emotional detachment makes it difficult for an individual to empathize with others or to share their feelings. these individuals tend to stress the importance of their independence and tend to struggle relating to others. an emotionally detached person may try to rationalize or apply logic to a situation to which there is no logical explanation. often, the inability to relate to others stems from a traumatic event. mental characteristics of individuals, as assessed by both neurological and psychological studies, have been linked to the development and maintenance of mental disorders. this includes cognitive or neurocognitive factors, such as the way a person perceives, thinks, or feels about certain things; or an individual's overall personality, temperament, or coping style or the extent of protective factors or "positive illusions" such as optimism, personal control and a sense of meaning.