When most people think of stress, they think of someone suffering, out of time, or being pressured by an angry boss, wife, or financial institution. However, stress is something entirely different.
Stress is your body’s amazing ability to perform at a higher level for a short period of time. It’s like a turbo button. You press it and you go faster, respond quicker, move easier, and perform better.
It all happens in our brains. Stress is simply your brain responding to any demand or threat. The National Institute of Mental Health defines stress as, “the brains response to any demand.”1 This demand or threat may be real or imagined2. It can come from external stimuli or internal fears. The hippocampus in your brain determines whether these demands, events, or feelings are threatening, then the adjusts the body to deal with the situation.3 Your body reacts to these demands with physical, mental, and emotional changes.4
Why Do We Have Stress?
Stress is there to help prepare you physiologically to meet the present demand. When needed and activated, your brain and body “kick into high gear” in a rapid and automatic response commonly referred to as fight or flight.5 These physiological responses appear to be designed to help us cope with the present situation by either fleeing or fighting.6
To put this in other words, stress helps us rise to meet the challenges we face.7 For instance, stress may help us think at a more alert level during an exam, help keep us on our toes during a crucial performance or presentation, or help us run for our life from a hungry monster. Our concentration is sharpened, our body is physically strengthened, and our reflexes are quickened.8
At the very least, stress provides us with the drive and motivation to work even at times when we would rather not.
To further understand the concept, imagine the world without stress. You may likely not have the motivation or extra boost of energy and alertness to get out of trouble in time of need. When our ancestors lived among frequent life-or-death threats, the stress response would have literally been a life saver, time and again. Without stress, we would be inhibited in our ability to respond to the threat at hand.9 (Ironically, as we will learn, we are equally inhibited if we are placed under too much stress10 or under stress too frequently.)
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Footnotes and References
- 5 Things You Should Know About Stress; National Institute of Mental Health; https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml
- Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes: The Harmful Effects of Stress and What You Can Do About It; HelpGuide.org, Trusted guide to mental, emotional, and social health; https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
- Always Stressed? Here Are 8 Natural Stress Relievers to Try Now; Dr Axe; https://draxe.com/stress-relievers/
- The Effects of Stress on Your Body; WebMD Medical Reference Reviewed by Joseph Goldberg, MD on June 12, 2016; http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/effects-of-stress-on-your-body
- Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes: The Harmful Effects of Stress and What You Can Do About It; HelpGuide.org, Trusted guide to mental, emotional, and social health; https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
- Stress Management; The American Institute for Cognitive Therapy; http://www.cognitivetherapynyc.com/stress.aspx
- Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes: The Harmful Effects of Stress and What You Can Do About It; HelpGuide.org, Trusted guide to mental, emotional, and social health; https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
- ibid.
- “Ideally, stress prepares us to take action by activating our sympathetic nervous system and improving mental focus. If we are too relaxed (i.e., not stressed enough), then we’re likely to be less motivated and less primed for physical action, thus inhibiting our ability to respond well to a situation. If we are under too much stress, we also suffer as our body stiffens and we lose our mental edge.” Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes: The Harmful Effects of Stress and What You Can Do About It; HelpGuide.org, Trusted guide to mental, emotional, and social health; https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
- ibid.
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