That stress does seem to subside as you get used to areas and creatures. Stalkers terrified me early in the game, for example, but I found that the more I swam around in their territories, looking for materials and resources, they became less and less scary until one day I realized they no longer bothered me at all. Then at some point you reach new areas with other unfamiliar creatures, and again you find yourself, after a time, getting used to being around them as well. Even creatures that are a more serious threat can become less scary, especially as you discover how to move around them safely. I think this process or phenomenon (I don’t know what to call it, but the term “normalization” springs to mind) seems to scale pretty well, although I can’t say how far as I still haven’t completed the game.