Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses a counterintuitive Halacha:

אמר רב הונא: תליוהו וזבין – זביניה זביני. מאי טעמא? כל דמזבין איניש, אי לאו דאניס – לא הוה מזבין, ואפילו הכי זביניה זביני. ודילמא שאני אונסא דנפשיה מאונסא דאחריני! אלא כדתניא:

If one was suspended, e.g., from a tree, and thereby coerced to sell a certain item, and he sold it, his sale is valid. What is the reason? The Gemara suggests that it is because whatever a person sells, were it not for the fact that he is compelled by his need for money, he would not sell it, and even so, his sale is valid. This indicates that a transaction performed under duress is valid. The Gemara rejects this: But perhaps duress that results from his own needs, such as his need for money, is different from duress that results from another, as in this case. 

A duress that comes from circumstances that are partially within a person’s locus of control, such as finance, is easier to accept than a sudden ruffian who accosts you, hangs you from a tree, and makes  “An offer you can’t refuse.” This might be due to the fact that personal and financial circumstances often have a slow buildup, allowing the person time to make peace with it, and accommodate the new reality. However, an aggressor comes upon the person suddenly, making it more traumatic and more difficult to adjust. In addition, in studies of trauma statistically, people have worse reactions to traumas that come from interpersonal activity as opposed to natural disasters. For example, on average, it is harder to recover from the loss of a relative who was murdered in comparison to the loss of a relative who died as a result of an earthquake. I think this is because as humans we are social animals and therefore cannot help but in some way have our status affected by the reactions of others and the relationships of others. Therefore, even a vile criminal and terrorist is still a person and that still impacts us differently, making us feel humiliated as a victim in comparison to a force of nature. 

We see from this distinction an interesting truth of human nature. When an event occurs that we can prepare ourselves for, that we could somewhat control, it is more easily internalized as our own failure or lack of personal strength or status, and therefore more damaging.