If you enter the word “stress” into a search engine, you will find many results popping up on your screen. Almost all of them will be about that stress and anxiety are bad.
That makes sense, as so many people have stress in their daily lives. And this stress often leads to problems that can affect both their physical health and emotional well-being.
However, what if there was a different way of approaching stress?
Such as, could having the right amount of stress in your life actually be good for you?
The trick is knowing the tipping point between too little and too much stress. So, let’s consider some facts about stress.
Physical Effects of Stress
It may be hard to believe, but stress can be good for you. Stress helps to bring things into focus and to do challenging things. When you experience stress, your body responds in several ways.
For example:
- The adrenal glands release adrenaline
- Your heart beats faster
- Blood circulates more quickly throughout your body
- Norepinephrine is released, which constricts both your veins and arteries to force blood through your system and to reduce bleeding
Yes, these things generally occur when you feel you are in danger, threatened, or have anxiety. However, they also occur in positive stress situations. How so?
Why Stress Is a Good Thing
Have you ever done something novel, challenging, or exciting? Hopefully, you have!
When you had those experiences, you actually felt the positive aspects of stress. What made these situations positive is that you felt in control and were doing something that you enjoyed. Athletics is a good example of this. If you love playing basketball, you will feel stress but in a healthy way.
For instance:
- Running up and down the court gets you physically active, releasing endorphins
- You have a desire to win and do your best on the court
- Doing certain things, such as shooting for the basket from far away or making a perfect pass is exciting
These are all positive things! However, these experiences don’t have to be specific to sports. Any activity that involves novelty and challenge is positive stress.
Of course, there are also negative stress situations. Such as?
When Stress Is Harmful
Using the basketball reference again, if you don’t like playing the game or are inexperienced, then playing a big game will be distressing. You won’t be getting the positive benefits of stress. Rather you are feeling the negative side of stress.
This might not be so bad for one game. However, many people experience negative stress every day of their lives. This is called chronic stress. And that type of stress is not empowering but rather debilitating.
Knowing the Right Amount of Stress
So, if chronic stress is harmful to our health, how can we know what is the right amount of stress? It all comes down to the right kind of stress.
Consider these thoughts:
- Does the activity make you feel excited or worried?
- Are you more focused when stressed, or does your mind get cloudy?
- What have been your previous experiences with stress?
The idea of knowing the right amount of stress is that you have some self-awareness. Reflect upon past stressful experiences, both positive and negative. What was your response? How do you generally approach stress now? Do you see stressful situations as opportunities or challenges to overcome? Or do those scenarios trigger anxiety?
Getting Help to Cope with Stress
Sometimes, it helps to have support when coping with stress. This is especially true if you have struggled a lot in the past in dealing with stress.
Talking to somebody about your stress can be really useful. This is where working with a therapist can make a big difference. A therapist understands the difference between positive and negative stress. They can assist you in finding the balance between too little or too much stress. And they can teach you strategies to de-stress.
Yes, stress and anxiety can have harmful effects. However, given certain situations, the right amount of stress can actually be beneficial. The trick is knowing the difference between too little or too much stress and what that tipping point is for you.
—
If you are struggling with stress and don’t know where to turn, consider contacting me for more information about anxiety treatment.
